THE 



LIFE OF AN OFFICER, 

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF, 



DURING A RESIDENCE IN 



PENNSYLVANIA 



WITH 



ANECDOTES 

OF THE 

AMERICAN WAR. 

* 

EDINBURGH: 
PRIXTED FOR WILLIAM BLACKWOOD; AND 
T. CADELL, LONDON. 



1828. 



■ 6 fa 



/ 



/ 



TO 

HIS EXCELLENCY 

RICHARD RUSH, Esq. 

AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
&C. &C &C 

FROM THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
Sir, 

Allow me to inscribe to you the republication of a 
Work which reflects honour on the literature of your 
native country, and to express my obligations for your 
attention to my inquiries concerning the Author. 

It is remarkable, that a production so rich in the 
various excellencies of style, description, and impartiali- 
ty, should not have been known to the collectors of Ame- 
rican books in this country, especially as it is, perhaps, 
the best personal narrative that has yet appeared relative 
to the history of that great conflict which terminated in 
establishing the independence of the United States. The 
candour with respect- to public occurrences, which it 
displays ; the views of manners in Pennsylvania prior 
to the memorable era of 1776 ; and the incidental 
sketches of historical characters, with which it is en- 



[ iv ] 

riched, cannot fail to render this volume a valuable ad- 
dition to the stock of general knowledge, and will pro- 
bably obtain for the Author no mean place among those 
who have added permanent lustre to the English lan- 
guage. 

I have the honour to remain, 

With sentiments of obligation and respect, 
Your very faithful, humble servant, 

John Galt. 

Edinburgh, 12th December 1821. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction, - - Page 1 

CHAPTER I. 

The Author's Account of his Family, and early Education — 
American Teachers — School Anecdotes — Author's Character — 
Academy at Philadelphia — Master and Ushers — Mr Beveridge 
and his Latin Poems, - - 4 

CHAPTER II. 

Retrospective Events in the Author's History — Philadelphia — 
Foot-races — The Paxton Boys threaten the City — Anecdotes of 
two British Officers — Author's early Amusements — Sailing — 
Swimming — Skating — Correction of Abbe Raynal — British 
Coffeehouse — -Anecdotes of its Visitors, 34 

CHAPTER III. 

The Author mixes in new Society — Is destined for the Law — 

Philadelphian Theatricals — -Anecdote Debating Society — 

Causes of Youthful Follies— Junius's Letters, 73 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Author removes to Yorktown — Boarding-House, and Cha- 
racter of the Inmates — General Society — Returns to Philadel- 
phia, and pursues his Legal Studies — Fencing — Anecdote of a 
Madman — Causes of the War with Britain — State of Parties — 
Preparation for War, - - - 99 

CHAPTER V. 

Assembly of Congress — Continental Battalions — Recruiting — 
The Author charged with a Commission to General Schuyler— 
Narrative of his Journey, - - - 125 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Author reluctantly leaves Philadelphia — Character of the 
Army at New York — Erection of Fort Washington and Fort 
Lee — Connecticut Light House — Arrival of the British Troops 
at Long Island — Action of 27th of August and subsequent 
Skirmishes — Retreat of Americans from Long Island, Page 144 

CHAPTER VII. 

Americans abandon New York, and take Post at Fort Washing- 
ton — Character of American Officers — Promotions — 'The Post 
at Fort Washington threatened— Summoned by General Howe 
— The Americans attacked and retire — Account of the Engage- 
ment, - - - - 170 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Author taken Prisoner — Conduct of British Officers and Sol- 
diers — The Prisoners — Character of General Howe — Prisoners 
removed to New York, - - - - 204 

CHAPTER IX. 

Pardon offered to the Americans upon return to their Allegiance — 
Letter of General Washington — Sufferings of Prisoners — Gene- 
ral Lee taken — British Provost Marshal — Character of Colonel 
Allen — A partial Exchange of Prisoners — American Officers re- 
moved to Long Island, - - - - 234 

CHAPTER X. 

Situation of the Officers at Long Island — Society and Manners — 
Hardships of Captivity — The Author's Mother unexpectedly 
arrives at New York — Narrative of her Excursion — Procures 
the Author's Liberty on Parole, - - - 257 

CHAPTER XL 

The Author leaves Long Island for New York and Elizabethtown 
— Arrives at Philadelphia — Meets the Object of an Early Attach- 
ment — Public Feelings, - 287 

CHAPTER XII. 
Philadelphia Threatened — General Washington marches to meet 
the Enemy— Battle at Brandywine — British take Possession of 



CONTENTS. 



Vll 



Philadelphia — Subsequent Operations — Character of the Repub- 
lican Chiefs — Society at Reading— Temper of the Times — The 
Author Married, - - - - Page 306 

CHAPTER XIII. 
American Affectation in Titles — Prisoners at Long Island — Super- 
numerary Officers — Character of General Lee — Military Anec- 
dotes — The Author enrolled in the Militia — Quaker Principles 
— Character of Dr Franklin — Mrs Macaulay — Milton's Senti- 
ments of Democracy — Party Spirit — The Author appointed 
Prothonotary of the County of Dauphin, - - 329 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Constitution of the United States — House of Representatives — 
Senate — Executive Power — Public Characters and State of Par- 
ties — Washington — Jefferson — French Revolution, - 357 

CHAPTER XV. 
Yellow Fever — Political Differences — Insurrection suppressed by 
the prudent Measures of the President — Treaty with Great 
Britain — Travels of the Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt — 
French Settlement at the Asylum — Opposition to the Measures 
of the President — Washington retires from Office, - 383 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Mr Adams President — Opposition to his Administration — French 
Partisans — Imposition of Taxes — Insurrection — Federalists lose 
their Ground — Death of General Washington, and Election of 
Mr Jefferson — Character of that Gentleman — Reflections — 
Death of the Author's Mother — Conclusion - - 403 



MEMOIRS OF A LIFE, 



CHIEFLY PASSED IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The dealers in self-biography, ever sedulous to ward oiF 
the imputation of egotism, seldom fail to find apologies 
for their undertakings. Some, indeed, endeavour to 
persuade themselves, that they design their labours 
merely for their scrutoires ; while others, less self-de- 
ceived, admit they have an eye to the public. The Car- 
dinal De Retz is brought out at the request of a lady ; 
Rousseau, by the desire of showing himself to a misjudg- 
ing world, in all the verity of nature ; Mannontel writes 
his life for his children at the instance of their mother ; 
and Cumberland, so far as his motives can be collected 
from his introduction, because he lived and was an au- 
thor. If, from these, we recur to the account given of 
himself by our own Franklin, we shall find, that, although 
addressed to his son, it is intended for the world ; and 
that the acknowledged motives to it are a combination of 
family curiosity and personal vanity, with the desire of 
showing the connection between thrifty youth and re- 



2 



INTRODUCTION. 



spectable age, — a kind of practical comment on the use- 
ful truths contained in Poor Richard's Almanac, 

Next to the good fortune of having figured in some 
brilliant, active career ; of having been the companion of 
a hero, or the depositary of state secrets ; of having seen 
cities and men ; of having wandered " through antres 
vast, and deserts idle," or been the subject of " moving 
accidents by flood and field the avowed inducement 
of Mr Cumberland is perhaps the most plausible. 

Unfortunately for the person who here presumes to ap- 
pear before the public, he is without one of these claims 
to attention. He has no pretensions to fame or distinc- 
tion in any kind, neither as soldier, nor statesman, nor 
traveller, nor author, He is not wholly without hope, 
however, that his presumption may be palliated, and 
that, in his object of giving a representation of the cha- 
racter, spirit, and more minute occurrences of his time, it 
will be perceived, that there is no form into which his 
work can be thrown with so much advantage, as into that 
of personal memoirs. By his own story, if he is not mis- 
led by self-love, a kind of menstruum is afforded for the 
incongruous mass of his materials, serving to harmonize, 
in some degree, the abrupt transitions and detached de- 
tails which a delineation of the various incidents of " many 
coloured life" requires. 

As to himself, he is fully conscious that 

it matters not 
To whom related, or by whom begot ; 

and, therefore, he would fain buttress his undertaking by 
the opinion of an eminent poet, as vouched by Mr Wal- 
poJe, viz. " That if any man were to form a book of what 
he had seen or heard himself, it must, in whatever hands, 



INTRODUCTION. 



3 



prove a most useful and entertaining one." A most se- 
ducing ignis fatuus truly, considering the latitude with 
which it is laid down ! 

But, far from wishing to foreclose the reader by an 
opinion which he must own he considers a very question- 
able one, or to lure him on to an expectation of what he 
might vainly seek to find, he announces at his outset, 
that the pages here set before him hold out no other in- 
ducement to his perusal than such as may arise from the 
fidelity with which he will relate incidents within the 
scope of ordinary life, and depict some occurrences 
which came under his notice during the progress of the 
revolution, and since its consummation. In doing this, 
he will have occasion to speak as well of others as him- 
self. He may sometimes resort to motives in account- 
ing for men's actions ; and, as these receive their quali- 
ties from the mind of the agent, he will, with equal free- 
dom and truth, disclose the complexion of his own, hav- 
ing little, he thinks no inclination that it should pass for 
better than it is. If the mould in which it has been 
formed is not the most perfect, so neither, does he trust, 
is it absolutely the most worthless : if not calculated to 
produce a cast to the taste of worldly wisdom, one that 
may advance experimentally the sound philosophy of 
thrift, and practically mark the routes to private wealth 
and public greatness, it will yet be found abundantly fruit- 
ful in negative instruction on both points. 



VILLAGE OF BRISTOL. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Author's Account of his Family, and early Education — - 
American Teachers — School Anecdotes— Author'' s Charac- 
ter — Academy at Philadelphia — Master and Ushers — Mr 
Beveridge and his Latin Poems. 

My recollections of the village of Bristol, in which I 
was born on the 10th of April, N. S. in the year 1752, can- 
not be supposed to go farther back than to the year 1756 
or 1757' There are few towns, perhaps, in Pennsylva- 
nia, which, in the same space of time, have been so little 
improved, or undergone less alteration. Then, as now, 
the great road leading from Philadelphia to New York, 
first skirting the inlet, at the head of which stand the 
mills, and then turning short to the left along the banks 
of the Delaware, formed the principal, and, indeed, only 
street, marked by any thing like a continuity of building. 
A few places for streets were opened from this main one, 
on which, here and there, stood an humble, solitary dwell- 
ing. At a corner of two of these lanes was a Quaker 
meeting-house ; and on a still more retired spot stood a 
small Episcopal church, whose lonely grave yard, with its 
surrounding woody scenery, might have furnished an ap- 
propriate theme for such a muse as Gray's. These, to- 
gether with an old brick jail, (Bristol having once been 
the county town of Bucks,) constituted all the public 
edifices in this my native town. Its scite, though flat, is 
not unpleasant, particularly along the bank of the Dela- 



VILLAGE OF BRISTOL, 



5 



ware, rising to a commanding height from a fair and gra- 
velly margin. From hence the eye might rove at large 
both up and down the river, and, after traversing a fine 
expanse of water in an oblique direction, find an agree- 
able resting-place in the town of Burlington on the op- 
posite shore. 

As in this country there is little temptation to the 
tracing of a long line of ancestry, I shall content myself 
with deducing a very brief genealogy. And this not so 
much, perhaps, from an acquiescence in the revolutionary 
idea of the insignificance of an illustrious pedigree, as 
from real inability to produce one. I can go no farther, 
at least, than to vouch that we had a coat of arms in the 
family, borne about on the body of an old fashioned 
chaise, and engraved upon our spoons and a double- 
handled caudle-cup. But if, instead of groping amidst 
the darkness of transatlantic heraldry, we confine our- 
selves to our own shores, which seems much the most 
congenial to the noble spirit of independence we are 
pleased to manifest on other occasions, I am warrant- 
ed in asserting, that I am descended from ancestors, re- 
spectable both as to station and character ; from a stock 
not ignoble, but honest and generous : And if parental 
propensities are transmitted to offspring in the human 
race, but in half the degree that they are among quadru- 
peds, the value we may be disposed to set on virtuous 
progenitors is very far from chimerical. Several years' 
residence on a farm has afforded me opportunity for 
some observations upon the nature of domestic animals ; 
and I have found, what I should have been disposed to 
laugh at, had I not proved it, that, among the ox kind 
especially, the vices, which seemed mere habits of the fe- 
male parent, have invariably descended to her offspring. 



6 



author's ancestry. 



I venture this remark, though not quite in unison with 
the tone of the subject ; and though liable to be strained 
into an assumption of worth on my part, to which I may, 
in fact, be wholly destitute of pretension. 

My father was an Irishman, and, as it appears from 
some imperfect documents in my possession, came to 
this country in the year 1730. He was born, I think, 
in Longford, and was brought up under the care of his 
maternal grandfather in Dublin, or its neighbourhood. 
Being designed for the pulpit, he had received a suitable 
education, to which having added many of the accom- 
plishments at that time in fashion, he was distinguished 
in Philadelphia both as a scholar and a gentleman. It 
was not long since, that the late Chief Justice Shippen 
informed me, he was the person always appealed to, in 
the coffeehouse controversies of the young men of the 
day, on points of science and literature. During his 
presidency of the county courts of Bucks, he had made 
himself, as I have understood, a very tolerable lawyer, 
insomuch that, at the time of his death, he was, as I have 
been informed, in nomination for the office of a judge of 
the supreme court of Pennsylvania. From the copies of 
letters to his friends in Ireland, soon after his arrival in 
Philadelphia, he appears not to have taken up very favour- 
able sentiments of its inhabitants. " Most of our trading 
people here," says he, " are complaisant sharpers ; and 
that maxim in trade, to think every man a knave, until 
the contrary evidently appears, would do well to be ob- 
served here if any where. In this province we have a 
toleration for all religions, which some have enlarged so 
far, as to make a neglect and indifference of all religion, 
their only religion." These being the opinions of a 
young man but of about two and twenty years of age, it 



SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA. 



7 



is not improbable that they were too hastily formed ; 
but if, unfortunately for the honour of our infant metro- 
polis, they were correct, it is some relief to hear, that 
mercantile integrity, joined to genuine and unaffected 
hospitality, was also to be found there, as appears from 
the foil owing: extract of a letter, dated the 18th of 
March 1731. " Soon after we arrived here, it hap- 
pened, and I hope providentially for us, (himself and 
his father-in-law, Mr Emerson, who made one family,) 
that we rented a house from one Mr Peter Baynton, 
adjacent to his own, who is a considerable merchant 
in this city. As he is a man of singular sobriety, 
and not well affected to the reigning humour in this 
town, he has admitted us into his chief confidence, 
and distinguished us as his principal friends and as- 
sociates, in so much that he will enter upon no pro- 
ject or design in trade, without admitting us to a share 
in it : and, from the success of some we have already 
undertaken, we have not the least room to doubt of his 
sincerity and kindness. " Such is my father's sketch of 
Philadelphia manners eighty years ago. From the 
same letter it appears, that, at the instance of this Mr 
Baynton, he had contemplated with him a partnership 
in trade, to be carried on in the town of Burlington, 
which, he observes, 1 ( though it be now somewhat ob- 
scure, it has yet many advantages capable of improve- 
ment." 

This contemplated removal, however, did not take 
place. He continued in business in Philadelphia, and 
in the war, probably, with Spain, which broke out 
in the year 1741, was concerned with several of the 
principal merchants in that city in building and fitting 
out the Tartar privateer. This vessel, supposed to be 



8 



SERIOUS ACCIDENT. 



the finest, as she was the largest, that had at that time 
been built on the Delaware, had a singular fate. On 
her passage to the sea, at a fine season of the year, she 
was lost in the bay. To make the most of a gentle 
breeze that was blowing, she was under full sail, when, 
either from a deficiency of ballast, a disproportion in her 
rigging, or some other fault in her construction, she was 
almost instantaneously overturned by a flaw from the 
shore. The greater part of the owners, who had form- 
ed a party to see her out of the capes, were on board, 
and among them my father. So mild was the day, and 
so little cause was there for apprehension, that he was 
amusing himself on deck with one of Moliere's plays, 
when the disaster occurred. Finding himself precipitat- 
ed among the waves, he immediately seized on a chest 
that had floated from the vessel, and placing himself on 
the middle of it, its extremities served to support a sail- 
or on each side of him. In this situation, they were 
driven at the mercy of the waves for a considerable 
time, without any prospect of relief. They were some- 
times about to quit their hold, and at once resign them- 
selves to a fate which appeared inevitable. This was 
peculiarly the case with one of the sailors, whom my fa- 
ther exerted himself to the utmost to encourage, since, if 
he had abandoned the chest, it would have lost its equi- 
librium, and in the weak, exhausted state in which they 
were, they must all have perished. At length, a vessel 
hove in sight, and appeared to be making towards them : 
It proved to be so, and they were taken up while yet 
enough of vital power remained, to render the means 
used for their restoration efficacious. The captain, if I 
am not mistaken, and the greater part of the Tartar's 
crew, were drowned, as were most of the owners that 



FAMILY HIST011Y. 



9 



were on board. Although I have heard my father re- 
late the circumstances of this misfortune, and have since 
heard it spoken of in the family, my recollection of the 
particulars is very imperfect. 

My mother, the second wife of my father, was the eld- 
est of four daughters ; she was born in the island of 
Barbadoes, and when about seven years of age, was 
brought to Philadelphia by her parents, who then came 
to reside in that city. Her father was a German, born, 
if I mistake not, in Frankfort on the Maine. He had 
been engaged in trade while in Barbadoes, and brought 
with him into Pennsylvania a pretty good property. 
Her mother was from Scotland, having first drawn 
breath in the city of Glasgow; but by what means a 
pair of so little national affinity as these my grand pa- 
rents on the mother's side were brought together, I ne- 
ver learned. From their conversation, however, I re- 
member they had resided sometime in London previously 
to their settling in Barbadoes. Notwithstanding the 
apparent want of associating principles in some respects, 
they yet agreed very well. While the tongue of my 
grandfather faithfully retained the character of its origi- 
nal dialect, that of his spouse, though in a less degree, 
bore testimony also to the country of her extraction ; 
and while he, a determined Episcopalian, had his pew in 
Christ's Church, she, a strict Presbyterian, was a con- 
stant attendant at Buttonwood meeting-house. No 
feuds, however, were engendered by this want of religi- 
ous conformity ; and if my grandfather sometimes con- 
sented to hear a sermon at the meeting-house, it might 
be considered as a concession on his part for a sermon of 
Archbishop Tillotson, which was regularly read aloud by 
one of the family on Sunday evening. Though a loud 



10 



FAMILY HISTORY. 



talker, and somewhat rough and boisterous in his man- 
ner, the old gentleman was at bottom highly liberal, be- 
nevolent, and good natured. The good lady, on the 
other hand, was rather austere ; and the management of 
her family strongly tinctured with the primitive disci- 
pline of her church. Her countenance on Sunday al- 
ways assumed an unusual degree of severity, and while 
under her tutorage, I might truly say, in the meaning of 
the poet, it shone no Sabbath day to me. Then, instead 
of rest, my labours were augmented ; then chapters were to 
be read, and long catechisms to be conned or repeated. 
The best things may be overdone, and the imposition of 
hard and unreasonable tasks is more apt to create dis- 
gust, than conciliation to instruction. So at least it was 
with me. I deemed my tutoress unfeeling and tyranni- 
cal, while, by her, I was considered as reprobate and in- 
corrigible. 

Although my progenitors, on neither side, appear to 
have possessed the talent of amassing wealth, there is a 
circumstance common to both, which seems unequivocal- 
ly to indicate liberality and sincerity of heart. And 
yet it is a circumstance which, probably, would have 
escaped me, had it not been noticed by my uncle, by 
marriage, the late Judge Biddle. Your family, said he 
one day to me, has had an honour which has happened 
to few, that of inducing two persons, wholly unconnect- 
ed with you, to attach themselves to you ; to make 
your interests their own ; and, without contract or pe- 
cuniary tie, to remain with you till their deaths. 
One of these was a Scotchman, of the name of Thomas 
Gordon, who came into my grandfather's service in 
Philadelphia, in the capacity of a clerk, continued with 
him after he had declined business, and remained among 



FAMILY HISTOKY. 



11 



us long after his death, until the time of his own de- 
cease, which happened at Reading, in the year 1777* 
He was born in Aberdeen, and had been bred to busi- 
ness in a counting-house at Rotterdam. He never was 
married. In his latter days he became a perfect clock 
in regularity ; was a truly honest man, and, what will 
be thought still better by many, he was a genuine Whig 
of seventy -six, though too old or infirm to carry arms 
in the revolutionary contest. The other was a maiden 
lady of the society of Friends, who, upon occasion of my 
mother being in want of a female domestic, offered to 
assist her for a short time, came into the family soon af- 
ter I was born, and never left it until taken from us by 
death, at an advanced age, in the year 1794. Her 
name was Ann Burgess ; she was a woman of good 
understanding, and reputably connected. 

With the exception of the family of Dr Denormandie, 
our own, and perhaps one or two more, the principal in- 
habitants of Bristol were Quakers. Among these the 
names of Buckley, Williams, Large, Meritt, Hutchinson, 
and Church, are familiar to me. The last, bred to the 
trade of a cooper, but who had put his son in the busi- 
ness, and employed himself more in the management of 
a small farm and nursery of fruit trees, was a sincere 
and steady friend to our family. He was married to 
the sister of Ann Burgess, just mentioned, and was a 
very worthy man, possessing a good natural understand- 
ing, with a strong addiction to philosophical specula- 
tions. His attachment to my father went beyond friend- 
ship : it reached to admiration and veneration. He 
thought him, as he has often told me, one of the best 
and wisest men that ever lived. I never knew him do 
a foolish thing, said he, but once. Upon my asking 



AMERICAN QUAKERS. 



him what that was ; it was, said he, on occasion of some 
worthless fellow reporting that he had seen one or more 
Indians in the swamp beyond the church, assembling a 
body of the militia, of which he was colonel, and march- 
ing out with drums beating and colours flying, against 
the supposed enemy, But this instance is equivocal. 
Whether my father gave credit to the report or not, 
others might, and no doubt did believe it. It was also 
incumbent on him to be alert ; to inculcate that duty 
upon his men, and to inure them to alarms ; and al- 
though more silence, and less parade, might have been 
more truly military, yet something of the " pride, pomp, 
and circumstance of glorious war, 5 ' is allowable to mili- 
tia, particularly to a body which had certainly never en- 
countered an enemy. Besides, to the calm incredulity 
of friend Church upon this occasion, we might perhaps 
safely add, a little both of the spirit of party and of 
quake rism. The people of his society, from principle 
averse to war, were charged with being too friendly to 
the Indians ; with being too ready to palliate their 
enormities, and, consequently, indisposed to listen to the 
alarming accounts which the panic, produced by Brad- 
dock's defeat, had spread throughout the country. By 
this event every obstacle to their incursions being re- 
moved, in the minds of the timid they were to be look- 
ed for every where. From the consternation that pre- 
vailed, I can still recollect, that the horrors of a discom- 
fiture by such a foe, were among my most early and 
lively impressions. To the terrors of the tomahawk 
and the scalping-knife, the imagination adds the savage 
yells, the gloomy woods, and dismal swamps, which are 
their usual accompaniments; and, hence, minds that 
have been deeply impressed by the fatal fields of Brad- 



SCHOOL AT BRISTOL. 



13 



dock and St Clair, are well prepared for the sombre in- 
terest imparted by Tacitus' s affecting description of that 
of Varus, visited after an interval of six years, by Ger- 
manicus : — Occulta saltuum, mcestos locos, visuque ac 
memoria defbrmes. Medio campi albentia ossa, ut 
fugerunt, ut restiterunt disjecta vel aggerata. " Those 
deep and dreary recesses, hideous both to sight and 
memory ; with the whitening bones, scattered or heaped 
together, as either they belonged to those who fell in 
flight, or met their fate resisting." 

There being no traces in my memory of any inci- 
dents worthy of remark, during the period of my infan- 
cy, I pass on to the era of my removal to Philadelphia, 
for the sake of my education. This I suppose to have 
been between my sixth and seventh year. I recollect little 
or nothing of going to school at Bristol, farther than 
that there was one, and the master's name Pinkerton, a 
kind, good humoured Irishman, from whom I might 
have learned, that as one thing was cruel big, so another 
might be cruel little. In the city I lived with, and was 
under the care of, my grandfather. The school he first 
put me to was that of David James Dove, an English- 
man, and much celebrated in his day, as a teacher, and 
no less as a dealer in the minor kind of satirical poetry* 
To him w r ere attributed some political effusions in this 
way, which were thought highly of by his party, and 
made a good deal of noise. He had also made some fi- 
gure, it seems, in the old world, being spoken of, as I 
have heard, though in what way I know not, having ne- 
ver seen the work, in a book, entitled, The Life and Ad- 
ventures of the Chevalier Taylor. * As the story went, 



* This was Taylor the oculist, spoken of in Boswell's Life of 



14 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. 



some one reading this performance to Mr Dove on its 
first appearance, with the mischievous design of amus- 
ing himself at his expence, as he knew what the book 
contained, he (Dove) bore testimony to the truth of the 
contents, with which, he said, he was perfectly acquaint- 
ed, exclaiming, as the reader went along, True, true as 
the gospel ! But when the part was reached, in which he 
himself is introduced in a situation somewhat ridiculous, 
he cried out, It was a lie, a most abominable lie, and that 
there was not a syllable of truth in the story. At any 
rate, Dove was a humorist, and a person not unlikely to 
be engaged in ludicrous scenes. It was his practice in 
his school to substitute disgrace for corporal punishment. 
His birch was rarely used in canonical method, but 
was generally stuck into the back part of the collar of 
the unfortunate culprit, who, with this badge of disgrace 
towering from his nape like a broom at the mast-head of 
a vessel for sale, was compelled to take his stand upon 
the top of the form for such a period of time as his of- 
fence was thought to deserve. He had another contriv- 
ance for boys who were late in their morning attendance. 
This was to dispatch a committee of five or six scholars 
for them, with a bell and lighted lantern, and in this 
" odd equipage," in broad day-light, the bell all the 
while tingling, were they escorted through the streets to 
school. As Dove affected a strict regard to justice in his 
dispensations of punishment, and always professed a wil- 



Johnson, and who, though sprightly, was, according to the Doctor, 
an instance how far impudence could carry ignorance. He chal- 
lenged me once to talk Latin with him, says the Doctor. I quoted 
some of Horace, which he took to be my own speech. He said a 
few words well enough. 

12 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE, 



15 



lingness to have an equal measure of it meted out to 
himself, in case of his transgressing, the boys took him 
at his word ; and one morning, when he had overstaid 
his time, either through laziness, inattention, or design, 
he found himself waited on in the usual form. He im- 
mediately admitted the justice of the procedure, and put- 
ting himself behind the lantern and bell, marched with 
great solemnity to school, to the no small gratification 
of the boys, and entertainment of the spectators. But 
this incident took place before I became a scholar. It 
was once my lot to be attended in this manner, but what 
had been sport to my tutor, was to me a serious punish- 
ment. 

The school was, at this time, kept in VidelPs Alley, 
which opened into Second, a little below Chesnut Street. 
It counted a number of scholars of both sexes, though 
chiefly boys ; and the assistant, or writing-master, was 
John Reiiy, a very expert penman and conveyancer, a 
man of some note, who, in his gayer moods, affected a 
pompous and technical phraseology, as he is characterised 
under the name of Parchment, in a farce written some 
forty years ago, and which, having at least the merit of 
novelty and personality, was a very popular drama, 
though never brought upon the stage. Some years after- 
wards, Dove removed to Germantown, where he erect- 
ed a large stone building, in the view of establishing an 
academy upon a large scale ; but I believe his success 
was not answerable to his expectations. I know not what 
my progress was under the auspices of Mr Dove ; but 
having never, in my early years, been smitten with the 
love of learning, I have reason to conclude it did not 
pass mediocrity. I recollect a circumstance, however, 
which one afternoon took place at my grandfather's, to 



IG 



PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY. 



the no small entertainment of the old gentleman, who 
often adverted to it afterwards. Dove was there, and in 
endeavouring to correct my utterance, as I had an ill 
habit of speaking with my teeth closed, as if indifferent 
whether I spoke or not, he bawled out, in one of his 
highest tones, " Why don't you speak louder ? open 
your mouth like a Dutchman — say yaw." 

Being now, probably, about eight years of age, it was 
deemed expedient to enter me at the academy, then, as 
it now continues to be, under the name of a university, 
the principal seminary in Pennsylvania ; and I was ac- 
cordingly introduced by my father to Mr Kinnersley, the 
teacher of English and professor of oratory. He was an 
Anabaptist clergyman, a large venerable looking man, 
of no great general erudition, though a considerable pro- 
ficient in electricity ; and who, whether truly or not, has 
been said to have had a share in certain discoveries in 
that science, of which Dr Franklin received the whole 
credit. The task of the younger boys, at least, consist- 
ed in learning to read and to write their mother tongue 
grammatically ; and one day in the week (I think Fri- 
day) was set apart for the recitation of select passages in 
poetry and prose. For this purpose, each scholar, in his 
turn, ascended the stage, and said his speech, as the 
phrase was. This speech was carefully taught him by his 
master, both with respect to its pronunciation, and the 
action deemed suitable to its several parts. Two of these 
specimens of infantile oratory, to the disturbance of my 
repose, I had been qualified to exhibit : Family partiali- 
ty, no doubt, overrated their merit ; and hence, my de- 
claiming powers were in a state of such constant requisi- 
tion, that my orations, like worn-out ditties, became va- 
pid and fatiguing to me, and, consequently, impaired my 

4 



ACADEMY— ANECDOTE. 



IT 



relish for that kind of acquirement. More profit at- 
tended my reading. After iEsop's Fables, and an 
abridgment of the Roman Hist 017, Telemachus was put 
into our hands ; and if it be admitted that the human 
heart may be bettered by instruction, mine, I may aver 
was benefited by this work of the virtuous Fenelon. 
While the mild wisdom of Mentor called forth my vene- 
ration, the noble ardour of the youthful hero excited my 
sympathy and emulation. I took part, like a second 
friend, in the vicissitudes of his fortune, — I participated in 
his toils, — 1 warmed with his exploits, — I wept where he 
wept, and exulted where he triumphed. 

As my lot has been cast in a turbulent period, in a 
season of civil war and revolution, succeeded by scenes 
of domestic discord and fury, in all of which I have been 
compelled to take a part, I deem it of consequence to 
myself to bespeak toleration for the detail of a school- 
boy incident, that may in some degree serve to develope 
my character. It may equally tend to throw some light 
on the little world upon whose stage I had now entered, 
A few days after I had been put under the care of Mr 
Kinnersley, I was told by my class-mates that it was ne- 
cessary for me to fight a battle with some one, in order 
to establish my claim to the honour of being an academy 
boy ; that this could not be dispensed with, and that 
they would select for me a suitable antagonist, one of my 
match, whom after school I must fight, or be looked up- 
on as a coward. I must confess thafl did not at all re- 
lish the proposal. Though possessing a sufficient de- 
gree of spirit, or at least irascibility, to defend myself 
when assaulted, I had never been a boxer. Being of a 
light and slender make, I was not calculated for the bu- 
siness, nor had I ever been ambitious of being the cock 

B 



is 



PHILADELPHIA— ACADEMY. 



of a school. Besides, by the laws of the institution I 
was now a subject of, fighting was a capital crime 5 a 
sort of felony deprived of clergy, whose punishment was 
not to be averted by the most scholar-like reading. 
For these reasons, both of which had sufficient weight 
with me, and the last not the least, as I had never been 
a wilful transgressor of rules, or callous to the consequen- 
ces of an infraction of them, I absolutely declined the 
proposal ; although I had too much of that feeling 
about me which some might call false honour, to repre- 
sent the case to the master, which would at once have 
extricated me from my difficulty, and brought down 
condign punishment on its imposers. Matters thus 
went on until school was out, when I found that the 
lists were appointed, and that a certain John Appowen, 
a lad who, though not quite so tall, yet better set and 
older than myself, was pitted against me. With in- 
creased pertinacity I again refused the combat, and in- 
sisted on being permitted to go home unmolested. On 
quickening my pace for this purpose, my persecutors, 
with Appowen at their head, followed close at my heels. 
Upon this I moved faster and faster, until my retreat 
became a flight too unequivocal and inglorious for a man 
to relate of himself, had not Homer furnished some 
apology for the procedure, in making the heroic Hector 
thrice encircle the walls of Troy, before he could find 
courage to encounter the implacable Achilles. To cut 
the story short, mf spirit could no longer brook an op- 
pression so intolerable, and, stung to the quick at the 
term coward which was lavished upon me, I made a 
halt and faced my pursuers. A combat immediately 
ensued between Appowen and myself, which for some 
time was maintained on each side with equal vigour and 



EARLY ADVENTURE, 



19 



determination, when unluckily I received his fist direct- 
ly in my gullet. The blow for a time depriving me of 
breath and the power of resistance, victory declared for 
my adversary, though not without the acknowledgment 
of the party, that I had at last behaved well, and shown 
myself not unworthy of the name of an academy boy. 
Being thus established, I had no more battles imposed 
upon me, and none that I can recollect of my own pro- 
voking 5 for I have a right to declare, that my general 
deportment was correct and unoffending, though ex- 
tremely obstinate and unyielding under a sense of injus- 
tice. I gave an early instance of this, in once burning 
the rod with which my father had corrected me, and 
upon his finding it out, and correcting me a second 
time, I declared I would drown myself, and ran towards 
a creek in a meadow not far off, with such an appearance 
of determination to execute the threat, that he thought 
proper to dispatch a servant after me in haste, and upon 
my being brought back, rather to yield to the violence 
of my temper, than persist in the attempt to subdue it. 

In saying my resistance proceeded from a sense of in- 
justice, I would by no means have it understood that my 
father had been culpable. I rather suppose, that a too 
ardent idea of the rights of a child had led me to consi- 
der that conduct oppressive, which was merely the effect 
of a paternal concern for my welfare. 

While upon the topic of those early adventures, by 
which we are initiated into the ways of the world, I 
may mention a circumstance of another nature, which 
happened not very long after my arrival in the city. 
One evening about dusk, I was amusing myself on the 
pavement before the door, with some marbles ; for hav- 
ing never been very strongly incited by a spirit of gamb- 



20 



PHILADELPHIA. 



ling, I frequently played alone, and even when I had 
a companion, I generally preferred playing in Jim, to 
speak technically, to playing in earnest. A little, 
skulking rogue, with whom I had no kind of acquaint- 
ance, came up to me, and as he joined me in play with 
some marbles of his own, he took occasion to observe, 
that his were too small for him, but as mine, on the con- 
trary, were large and exactly suited to his hand, he pro- 
posed an exchange, offering me the odds, first, of two, 
and then of three for one. Having no disposition to 
traffic with him, being pleased with my own, and satis- 
fied with their number, I at first objected to his propo- 
sal, but he pressed me in so earnest a manner to accom- 
modate him with but a part of mine, that, after some he- 
sitation, I consented. Without giving me time for a re- 
sumption of my first determination, he picked up six or 
eight of my marbles, and throwing me down three or 
four times the number of his own, the amount of boot 
being apparently wholly unworthy of calculation, he de- 
camped in a twinkling. Upon gathering up the com- 
modities I had received in such abundance, I found 
them rather light ; and on closer inspection, discovered, 
that, as they had been but clay in the hands of the pot- 
ter, so I had been an equally ductile material in the 
hands of a swindler. These things are but puerilities, 
and very trifles, it is true, but can it be said that they 
are irrelative to the objects I set out with? And are 
they not prototypes of the transactions which the more 
important scene of man every day exhibits ? If swindling 
and oppression beset us in infancy, does experience 
warrant us in affirming that the state of manhood is ex- 
empt from them ? 

Might I here be pardoned a brief recognition of the 



author's early character. 



21 



qualities my childhood had unfolded, I might say, that, 
with a sufficient share of obstinacy and impatience of 
control, I had never manifested a propensity to mis* 
chief ; and though I might sometimes have been a fol- 
lower, I had never promoted or been a leader in those 
pranks which are denominated unlucky : Thank 
Heaven, I had never been guilty of a trick, and rarely, 
if ever, of a lie. I had no cunning, and, consequently, 
gave no token of those talents which might qualify me, 
one day, to rise in a commonwealth. On a scrutiny, 
therefore, of my character, the possibility might have 
been inferred, that, in an evil hour, and at a riper age, 
my passions might have hurried me into acts of fatal 
rashness, as, under better stars, they might have impel- 
led me into the path of a Hampden ; but that, in no si- 
tuation, I could have trod the track of a Gracchus or a 
Drusus. 

The Gracchi fond of mischief-making laws. 
And Drusi popular in faction's cause. 

Neither could the unshrinking determination which 
must enter into the composition of a Brutus have justly 
been imputed to me not even on the specious ground 
of public good ; my stuff was not so stern. 

My amusements, as I have already said, depended 
much upon myself. I had a passion for drawing ; and 
my early essays were considered as indications of much 
genius for the art. I was in the practice also of cutting 
men and horses out of cards. By separating the legs of 
the bipeds, I mounted them without difficulty ; and by 
a similar process on those of the quadrupeds, I could 
give them a firm stand on a table. By these means I 
could either send them a hunting with a pack of hounds, 



author's early character. 



in like manner set upon their feet, or attach unmounted 
horses to sleighs, or wheel carriages, (all of which I ma- 
nufactured,) at pleasure. My talent also gave me the 
command of regiments of cavalry, and my evenings, 
when there was no company, were generally employed 
in arranging them in order of battle. Divided into two 
bodies, they were disposed in hostile array, while round 
pieces of card, representing cannon balls, were the mis- 
siles alternately thrown at the different corps ; that side 
being held to be defeated which was first battered down. 
It was truly a war of extermination, as the vanquished 
were always cut off to a man. Both my grandfather 
and grandmother, as well as my aunts, were pleased with 
my exhibitions ; and it became a matter of doubt in the 
family, whether my genius most inclined me to the pro* 
fession of a limner or a general. 

Music, too, was an art for which I had discovered a 
propensity, and had already the enthusiasm of an ama- 
teur. From the drums and fifes of Otway's regiment, 
which every morning passed our door, I had, among 
other tunes, learnt the Grenadier's March ; and I re- 
member one day being on a visit to my father, who then 
resided in the country, at a place of Dr Denorman- 
die's, as I was whistling it with great devotion, and 
marching to it in proper time, he was delighted with the 
truth of my ear, and the correctness of my performance : 
For he was much of a musical man, and played upon the 
violin, though, as I have been informed by one of his old 
friends, with more of science than execution. 

Another circumstance, of some affinity to the topic* I 
cannot withhold, since it is an evidence of my coinci- 
dence in taste with the celebrated Mr Addison. I have 
somewhere seen it mentioned, that he was a warm ad- 



ANECDOTE OF ADDISON. 



mirer of the ballad of Sally of the Alley. I once, when 
very young, heard my mother sing it over a cradle, and 
was so enraptured with its simple pathos, that I was con- 
tinually importuning her to repeat it. Whether it was 
the composition or the melody which had charmed me, 
I know not, but to my infant heart it appeared inimita- 
bly tender and affecting. The only verse I recollect of 
it is the following : — 

Of all the days within the week, 

I dearly love but one day, 

And that's the day that comes between 

Saturday and Monday : 

For then I'm drest 

All in my best, 
To walk abroad with Sally ; 
She is the darling of my heart, 
And lives in our alley. 

Though an old ballad, it is possible that it may be yet 
so well known as to render this recital unnecessary, if 
not to give it an appearance of triteness. At any rate, 
I should hardly have ventured to notice it had it not 
been dignified by the approbation of a respectable 
name. 

It was sometime before my entering into the Latin 
school that I had the misfortune to lose my father. 
This was in March I76I. He had just finished a 
country house on a favourite spot, sufficiently elevated 
to overlook the adjacent district for some miles round, 
and to command a view of the town of Bristol, distant 
not quite a mile, as well as that of Burlington, together 
with an extensive intervening tract of meadow ground, 
stretching to the shore of the Delaware, whose bright 
expanse was also subjected to the eye. He had long 
been improving the scite before he began to build ; had 



DEATH OF AUTHOR'S FATHER. 



planted it with the best fruits in every kind, and given 
to it the style of embellishment, both with respect to 
the disposition of the grounds and the trees, which was 
at that time in fashion. But this residence, at once so 
cherished and delightful, he was .permitted to enjoy not 
quite a year. The blow was desolating to my mother. 
If whose heart was apt to feel and who, in addition 
to the calamity of being bereaved of one with whom her 
union had been happiness uninterrupted, found herself, 
at about the age of two and thirty, solely involved in the 
cares of a young family of four children, of whom I, 
about to complete my ninth year, was the eldest. To 
me, who was at home when the event took place, it was 
rather a shock than a matter of poignant grief. It was 
the first death that had been brought home to me ; and 
the deep distress of the family, together with the dismal 
apparatus of coffins and hearses, could not fail to over- 
whelm me in the general gloom. The next day I was 
sent to Philadelphia, whither the remains of my father, 
attended by his faithful and dejected friend Joseph 
Church, were conveyed for interment. As funeral ho- 
nours upon these occasions are the only solace of the 
afflicted, they were here bestowed with an unsparing 
hand. Much pomp was shown, and much expence in- 
curred, both of which would have been saved had the will 
of the deceased, which enjoined a plain and economical 
burial, been previously opened. The pall, sustained by 
six of his old city friends, I followed as chief mourner, 
and saw the body deposited in the grave yard of Mar- 
ket Street Meeting-House, in or near the tomb where- 
in his first wife had been laid. My father, as already 
mentioned, came to this country a married man, and 
was about twenty years older than my mother. Though 



LATIN SCHOOL — MR BEVERIDGE. 



25 



he died possessed of a large and valuable landed proper- 
ty in the neighbourhood of Bristol, consisting of an 
equal part of one thousand acres, purchased, in conjunc- 
tion with Mr M'llvaine, in the year 1752, of William 
Whitaker of London, it was encumbered ; and the pro- 
vision, made necessary by a settlement on his first mar- 
riage, for two children, who were the issue of it, render- 
ed the residue inadequate to the support of his widow 
and her children. Hence, a removal of the family to 
Philadelphia became expedient, and was resolved on as 
soon as the requisite arrangements could be made ; and 
it accordingly took place in the course of the year. 

I have said that I was about to enter the Latin 
school. The person whose pupil I was consequently to 
become was Mr John Beveridge, a native of Scotland, 
who retained the smack of his vernacular tongue in its 
primitive purity. His acquaintance with the language he 
taught was, I believe, justly deemed to be very accurate 
and profound. But as to his other acquirements, after 
excepting the game of backgammon, in which he was 
said to excel, truth will not warrant me in saying a great 
deal. He was, however, diligent and laborious in his 
attention to his school ; and had he possessed the faculty 
of making himself beloved by the scholars, and of excit- 
ing their emulation and exertion, nothing would have 
been wanting in him to an entire qualification for his of- 
fice. But, unfortunately, he had no dignity of charac- 
ter, and was no less destitute of the art of making him- 
self respected than beloved. Though not, perhaps, to 
be complained of as intolerably severe, he yet made a 
pretty free use of the ratan and the ferule, but to very 
little purpose. He was, in short, no disciplinarian, and, 
consequently, very unequal to the management of seven- 



26 ANECDOTES OF MR BEVERIDGE,, 

ty or eighty boys, many of whom were superlatively 
pickle and unruly. He was assisted, indeed, by two 
ushers, who eased him in the burden of teaching, but 
who, in matters of discipline, seemed disinclined to in- 
terfere, and disposed to consider themselves rather as 
subjects than rulers. I have seen them slily slip out of 
the way when the principal was entering upon the job 
of capitally punishing a boy, who, from his size, would 
be likely to make resistance. For this had become 
nearly a matter of course ; and poor Beveridge, who 
was diminutive in his stature, and neither young nor 
vigorous, after exhausting himself in the vain attempt to 
denude the delinquent, was generally glad to compound 
for a few strokes over his clothes, on any part that was 
accessible. He had, indeed, so frequently been foiled, 
that his birch at length was rarely brought forth, and 
might truly be said to have lost its terrors — it was tan- 
quam gladium in vagina repositum. He indemnified 
himself, however, by a redoubled use of his ratan. 

So entire was the want of respect towards him, and so 
liable was he to be imposed upon, that one of the larger 
boys, for a wager, once pulled off his wig, which he ef- 
fected by suddenly twitching it from his head, under 
pretence of brushing from it a spider ; and the unequi- 
vocal insult was only resented by the peevish exclama- 
tion of Hoot, mon t 

Various were the rogueries that were played upon 
him ; but the most audacious of all was the following. 
At the hour of convening in the afternoon, that being 
found the most convenient, from the circumstance of Mr 
Beveridge being usually a little beyond the time ; the 
bell having rung, the ushers being at their posts, and 
the scholars arranged in their classes, three or four of 



SCHOOL ANECDOTE. 



27 



the conspirators conceal themselves without, for the pur- 
pose of observing the motions of their victim. He ar- 
rives, enters the school, and is permitted to proceed un- 
til he is supposed to have nearly reached his chair at the 
upper end of the room, when instantly the door and 
every window-shutter is closed. Now, shrouded in ut- 
ter darkness, the most hideous yells that can be con- 
ceived are sent forth from at least threescore of throats ; 
and Ovids, and Virgils, and Horaces, together with the 
more heavy metal of dictionaries, whether of Cole, of 
Young, or of Ainsworth, are hurled without remorse at 
the head of the astonished preceptor, who, on his side, 
groping and crawling under cover of the forms, makes 
the best of his way to the door. When attained, and 
light restored, a death-like silence ensues. Every boy 
is at his lesson : no one has had a hand or a voice in 
the recent atrocity : what, then, is to be done, and who 
shall be chastised ? 

Scevit atrox Vohce?is, nec teli conspicit usquayn 
Auctorem, nec quo se ardens immittere possit. 
Fierce Volscens foams with rage, and gazing round 
Descries not him who aim'd the fatal wound ; 
Nor knows to fix revenge 

This most intolerable outrage, from its succeeding be- 
yond expectation, and being entirely to the taste of the 
school, had a run of several days ; and was only then put 
a stop to by the interference of the faculty, who decreed 
the most exemplary punishment on those who should be 
found offending in the premises, and by taking measures 
to prevent a further repetition of the enormity. 

I have said, and with truth, that I was no promoter 
of mischief ; but I will not take upon me to assert, that 
I was proof against the irresistible contagion of such a 



28 



SINGULAR PETITION. 



scene, or that I did not raise my voice in the discordant 
concert of the screamers : though I can safely declare, 
that I never threw at the master, and that I was wholly 
ignorant of the contrivers and ringleaders of this shame- 
ful proceeding. 

In the year 1765, Mr Beveridge published by sub- 
scription a small collection of Latin poems. Of their 
general merit I presume not to judge, but I think I have 
heard they were not much commended by the British 
reviewers. The Latinity probably is pure, the prosody 
correct, the versification sufficiently easy and sounding, 
and such as might serve to evince an intimate acquaint- 
ance with the classics of ancient Rome : But I should 
doubt their possessing much of the soul of poetry. One 
of them is neither more nor less than a humble petition 
in hexamaters, and certainly a very curious specimen of 
pedantic mendicity. It is addressed to Thomas Penn, 
the proprietary of Pennsylvania ; and the poet very mo- 
destly proposes, that he should bestow upon him a few 
of his acres, innumerable, he observes, as the sands of 
the Delaware ; in return for which, his verse shall do its 
best to confer immortal fame upon the donor. By way 
of further inducement to the gift, he sets before his ex- 
cellency the usual ingratitude of an enriched and unknown 
posterity, on the one hand ; and on the other, the ad- 
vantages which Ajax, iEneas, and Maecenas, derived from 
the muses of Homer, of Virgil, and Horace. But lest 
1 might be suspected of misrepresentation, let my good 
quondam preceptor speak for himself. 

Jugera quum tibi sint quot habet Delavarus arenas, 
Quid magnum minimo tribuas si propria parvae 
Fundamenta casae, Boreae qua frigora pellam. 
Non dabis ingrato dederis licet aeris egeno, 



beveridge's poems. 



29 



Quodque tibi minimum, magnum esset pauca roganti. 

Sin renuas, tanti nec sint commercia nostra, 

Hoc quoque ne pigeat cito spem prsecidere vanam. 

Nec periisse puta, dederis quod vivus amico ; 
Credere fas sit enim, si quid mea carmina possint, 
Sera licet, majora feras quam Mexico nobis, 
Seu Tagus auriferis exundans mittit arenis ; 
Auguror et si quid vives post fata super stes. 

Quid juvat ignotis, ingratis forsitan, auri 
Pondera, frugiferis vel millia jugera campis 
Linquere post natis ? Nequeunt nam prodere famam 
Divitiae, nequeunt titulis monumenta superbis. 

Quid foret iEneas, et magni nominis -Ajax, 
Atque alii quorum sunt nomina multa virorum ; 
Ni foret et vates divini carminis auctor 
Maeonides, sacro qui primus vertice Pindi 
Deduxit faciles Phcebo plaudente, Camoenas ? 

Vel quid Maecenas animi mentisque benignae 
Ni benefacta sui celebrasset carmen Horati, 
Et Maro munificum cecinisset gratus amicum ? &c. &c. 

Might not one here be tempted to exclaim, in the spirit 
of Prior to Boileau ! 

Pindar, that eagle mounts the skies, 
While virtue leads the noble way : 
Too like a vulture Bev ridge flies 
Where sordid int'rest lures the prey. 

I never heard, however, that the poet was the better for 
his application : I rather think that the proprietor was of 
opinion, there was a want of reciprocity in the proposal, 
and that, whatever the carmen Horati vel Maronis 
might have been worth, that of Mr Beveridge did not 
amount to a very valuable consideration. 

Another of the principal poems in this collection is a 
pastoral, which, if Mr Beveridge had had the salutary 



30 



PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY. 



fear of Boileau before his eyes, he certainly would not 
have written ; since, never was production more com- 
pletely under the lash of the following satirical lines: 

Viendrai-je, en une Eglogue entoure de troupeaux 
Au milieu de Paris enfler mes chalumeaux, 
Et dans mon cabinet assis au pied des hetres, 
Faire dire aux echos des sottises champetres ? 

The complainant in this pastoral is an Edinburgh cit, 
whom he appropriately calls Urbanus : nevertheless he 
is, without the smallest difficulty, transformed into a 
shepherd, surrounded with sheep, and proclaiming to the 
echoes his sottises champetres, in strains like these : 

Audiit et planctus gemebunda remurmurat Echo. 
Echo sola meos miserata est, inquit amores ; 
Tristia nam mcestis ex saxis assonat linis, 
Flebile luctisonis responsat et usque cicutis. 
Me miserum quoties exclamo, lugubris ilia 
Me miserum ingeminat gelidis e vallibus : Eheu, 
Clamanti exclamat, repetitis vocibus, Eheu ! 

But after all, it is perhaps too much , to expect from a 
modern, good Latin, good poetry, and good sense, all at 
the same time. 

As it frequently happens in human affairs, that men 
are misplaced, and that those found in a subordinate sta- 
tion are better fitted for the supreme authority than those 
who are invested with it, so it generally was in the Latin 
school of the academy. The ushers, during'the term of 
my pupilage, a period of four years or more, were often 
changed j and some of them, it must be admitted, were 
insignificant enough : but others were men of sense and 
respectability, to whom, on a comparison with the prin- 
cipal, the management of the school might have been 

committed with much advantage. Among these was 

1 



PHILADELPHIA — ACADEMY. 



31 



Mr Patrick Allison, afterwards officiating as a Presbyte- 
rian clergyman in Baltimore; Mr James Wilson, late 
one of the associate justices of the supreme court of 
the United States ; and Mr John Andrews, now Dr 
Andrews, of the University of Pennsylvania. It is true 
they were much younger men than Mr Beveridge, and 
probably unequal adepts in the language that was 
taught ; but, even on the supposition of this comparative 
deficiency on their part, it would have been amply com- 
pensated on the score of judicious discipline and instruc- 
tion. 

With respect to my progress, and that of the class to 
which I belonged, it was reputable, and, perhaps, laud- 
able, for the first two years. From a pretty close appli- 
cation, we were well grounded in grammar, and had pass- 
ed through the elementary books, much to the approba- 
tion of our teachers ; but, at length, with a single excep- 
tion, we became possessed of the demons of liberty and 
idleness. We were, to a great degree, impatient of the 
restraints of a school ; and if we yet retained any latent 
sparks of the emulation of improvement, we were, un- 
fortunately, never favoured with the collision that could 
draw them forth. We could feelingly have exclaimed 
with Louis the Fourteenth, Mais d qaois sert de lire ! 
but where's the use of all this poring over books ! One 
boy thought he had Latin enough, as he was not design- 
ed for a learned profession \ his father thought so too, 
and was about taking him from school. Another was 
of opinion that he might be much better employed in a 
counting-house, and was also about ridding himself of 
his scholastic shackles. As this was a consummation de- 
voutly wished by us all, we cheerfully renounced the 
learned professions for the sake of the supposed liberty 



author's early class-mates. 



that would be the consequence. We were all, therefore, 
to be merchants, as to be mechanics was too humiliating ; 
and, accordingly, when the question was proposed, which 
of us would enter upon the study of Greek, the grammar 
of which tongue was about to be put into our hands, 
there were but two or three who declared for it. As to 
myself, it was my mother's desire, from her knowing it 
to have been my father's intention to give me the best 
education the country afforded, that I should go on, and 
acquire every language and science that was taught in 
the institution ; but, as my evil star would have it, I was 
thoroughly tired of books and confinement, and her ad- 
vice, and even entreaties, were overruled by my extreme 
repugnance to a longer continuance in the college, which, 
to my lasting regret, I bid adieu to when a little turned 
of fourteen, at the very season when the minds of the 
studious begin to profit by instruction. We were at this 
time reading Horace and Cicero, having passed through 
Ovid, Virgil, Caesar, and Sallust. From my own expe- 
rience on this occasion, I am inclined to think it of much 
consequence that a boy, designed to complete his college 
studies, should be classed with those of a similar desti- 
nation. 

Of a dozen or more class-mates, the lapse of more 
than forty years puts it out of my power to recognise 
more than three of them, who are yet alive ; though 
there may be others settled at a distance. One of those, 
who was the exception to the idle propensity I have 
mentioned, has lately filled an important office in the 
state ; another of them, though a boy of good parts and 
much vivacity, early betook himself to a very retired 
walk of life, from which he never emerged ; and the 
third, with whom I have ever continued in the closest 

8 



author's early class-mates. 



intimacy and friendship, leads, in ease and affluence on 
his paternal estate, the happy life of a country gentle- 
man, within a convenient distance of the metropolis. 

In making this enumeration, there occurs to me a 
member, who joined us, perhaps, about a year before I 
left the college. I cannot call him a boy, since he was 
married, and, for ought I know, between thirty and for- 
ty years of age. His puckered cheeks, at least, would 
have justified the latter part of this conjecture. He was 
preparing himself for the pulpit of an Anabaptist meet- 
ing-house ; and although the acquisition of his Latin was 
sufficiently arduous in all conscience, he was yet courage- 
ous enough to be looking forward to the attainment also 
of the Greek and the Hebrew. With a rueful length of 
visage, and features of the coarsest mould, his figure was 
tall, raw-boned, and ungainly, and certainly a very hete- 
rogeneous ingredient in the mass in which he had cho- 
sen to compound it. But he was not more distinguish- 
ed by the uncouthness of his appearance than by the 
meekness of his deportment. It was of the back of this 
overgrown school-boy that Beveridge usually strove to 
avail himself in those abortive flagellating efforts I have 
mentioned; and the function, however unpleasing to the 
Brobdingnagian, he had too strong a sense of duty to 
decline. Such was the personage, who, from a clerical 
ardour, had been tempted to transform himself into this 
scholastic phenomenon. His name, I think, was Ste- 
vens ; and though I have amused myself with the recol- 
lection of his ludicrous attributes, it is with still more 
satisfaction I bear testimony to those, that, from their 
simple benevolence, were truly respectable. 



c 



34 



DR LAUGHLIN MACLEAN. 



CHAPTER II. 

Retrospective Events in the Author "s History — Philadelphia — - 
Foot-races — The Paxton Boys threaten the City — Anecdotes 
of two British Officers— ~ Author s early Amusements — Sail- 
ing — Swimming- — Skating — Correction of the Abbe, Raynal 
! — British Coffeehouse — Anecdotes of its Visitors. 
i 

Although it was in my fifteenth year, as already 
mentioned, that I took my leave of the academy, yet the 
circumstances I am now about to advert to were antece- 
dent to that event, and are to be considered as having 
taken place within the five years preceding it. 

Among the persons who were acquainted and visited 
at my grandfather's were Dr Laughlin Maclean and his 
lady. The latter rarely missed a day, when the weather 
was favourable, of calling upon her countrywoman, my 
grandmother ; and I well remember, she was always at- 
tended, or rather preceded, by a small white dog, enor- 
mously fat, in which quality he even exceeded his mis- 
tress, who yielded to few of her species and sex in the 
possession of an enviable embonpoint. The Doctor was 
considered to have great skill in his profession, as well as 
to be a man of wit and general information ; but I have 
never known a person who had a more distressing impe- 
diment in his speech. Yet, notwithstanding this misfor- 
tune, he, some years after, on his return to Europe, had 



PHILADELPHIA YELLOW FEVER. 



35 



the address to recommend himself to a seat in the Bri- 
tish House of Commons. He is understood to be the 
same Laughlin Maclean who, at Edinburgh, evinced a 
generous benevolence in administering to the relief of 
the celebrated Oliver Goldsmith, as related in the life of 
that poet ; and it is this circumstance which has princi- 
pally induced me to notice him here. 

About the year I76O or 1761, to the best; of my re- 
collection, the city was alarmed by a visitation of the 
yellow fever. I can say nothing of the extent of its ra- 
vages, having been, happily, too young to be infected 
with the panic it produced, or to have been at all inte- 
rested in the inquiry, whether it had an adequate cause. 
My impression rather was, that it was an occurrence by 
no means to be deprecated, since the schools were shut 
up, and a vacation of five or six weeks its fortunate con- 
sequence. As the city was deserted by such as could 
leave it without too much inconvenience, my grandfather 
took refuge at his country house, near Germantown, 
whither, as one of his family, I accompanied him, and 
remained there until the danger was supposed to be 
over. 

It was in the fall, probably, of this very year, that my 
mother removed to Philadelphia, in the view of keeping 
a lodging-house ; an employment, which, in Pennsylvania, 
has been the usual resource of persons in her situation, 
that is, of widows, reputably brought up, left in circum- 
stances too slender for the support of their families. She 
began with taking boys who went to the academy, of 
which there were generally a number from the southern 
provinces and the West India islands. Being thus esta- 
blished, I left my grandfather's for her house ; and, by 
this change of residence, bid adieu to the old route. 



36 PHILADELPHIA — LODGING-HOUSE. 

which, for about two years, I had traversed, in going to 
and returning from school, in the winter four times, and 
in the summer six times a- day. I had my choice, indeed, 
of different streets, and sometimes varied my course ; but it 
generally led me through what is now called Dock Street, 
then a filthy uncovered sewer, bordered on either side 
by shabby stables and tan-yards. To these succeeded the 
more agreeable object of Israel Pemberton's garden, (now 
covered in part by the Bank of the United States,) laid 
out in the old fashioned style of uniformity, with walks 
and alleys nodding to their brothers, and decorated with 
a number of evergreens, carefully clipped into pyramidal 
and conical forms. Here the amenity of the view usual- 
ly detained me for a few minutes. Thence, turning Ches- 
nut Street corner to the left, and passing a row of dingy 
two storey houses, I came to the Whalebones, which gave 
name to the alley at the corner of which they stood. 
These never ceased to be occasionally an object of some 
curiosity, and might be called my second stage, beyond 
which there was but one more general object of atten- 
tion, and this was to get a peep at the race-horses, which, 
in sporting seasons, were kept in the Widow Nichols's 
stables, which, from her house, (the Indian Queen, at the 
corner of Market Street,) extended, perhaps, two-thirds, 
or more, of the way to Chesnut Street. In fact, through- 
out the whole of my route, the intervals took up as much 
ground as the buildings ; and, with the exception of here 
and there a straggling house, Fifth Street might have 
been called the western extremity of the city. 

My course was much shortened by the removal to my 
mother's, who had taken a house in Arch Street, facing 
the Friends' burying-ground. The first lads that were 
placed with her were two brothers, the sons of a Colonel 



PHILADELPHIA — FOOT RACES. 



37 



Lewis of Virginia. The younger, named Samuel, about 
a year older than myself, had the attractions of a pleasing 
countenance and great gentleness of manners. Though 
he belonged to a younger class than mine, the living and 
sleeping together were sufficient to cement a warm at- 
tachment between us, and there was not a boy in the 
school in whose welfare and competitions I took so decid- 
ed an interest ; the ardour of which was in almost perpe- 
tual requisition, from the circumstance of his being a 
champion in the gymnastic exercise of running, which 
was then the rage. The enthusiasm of the turf had per- « 
vaded the academy, and the most extravagant transports 
of that theatre, on the triumph of a favourite horse, were 
not more zealous and impassioned, than were the accla- 
mations which followed the victor in a foot-race round 
a square. Stripped to the shirt, and accoutred for the 
heat by a handkerchief bound round the head, another 
round the middle, with loosened knee-bands, without 
shoes, or with moccasons instead of them, the racers 
were started ; and, turning to the left, round the corner 
of Arch Street, they encompassed the square in which 
the academy stands ; while the most eager spectators, in 
imitation of those who scour across the course at a horse- 
race, scampered over the church burying-ground to Fifth 
Street, in order to see the state of the runners as they 
passed, and to ascertain which was likely to be foremost, 
on turning Market Street corner. The four sides of this 
square cannot be much less than three quarters of a mile ; 
wherefore, bottom in the coursers was no less essential 
than swiftness ; and, in both, Lewis bore away the palm 
from every one that dared enter against him. After hav- 
ing, in a great number of matches, completely triumph* 
ed over the academy, other schools were resorted to for 



38 



PHILADELPHIA- 



.—FOOT-RACES. 



racers, but all in vain : Lewis was the Eclipse that 
distanced every competitor, the swift-footed Achilles, 
against the vigorous agility of whose straight and well- 
proportioned form, the long-legged stride of the over- 
grown, and the nimble step of the dapper, were equally 
unavailing. I was scarcely less elated with his triumphs 
than if I myself had been the victor. I was even su- 
premely happy in the circumstance, which gave me a 
claim to a more than common degree of interest in him ; 
and from my experience of the force of these associa- 
■ tions, in which, by a kind of metonymy, we take the 
place of the real agent, I can fully enter into the feel- 
ings of the butcher, who, ecstasied at the good behavi- 
our of his dog at a bull-beating, exclaimed to Charles 
the Second-— " Damme, Sir, if that isn't my dog !" — 
Since the time of those exploits, in which I was too 
young to enter the lists, I have valued myself upon my 
own agility in running and jumping ; but I have never 
had the vanity to suppose that, at my best, I could have 
contended, with any chance of success, in so long a race 
against Lewis. 

At what time I was separated from this friend of my 
youth I cannot remember ; but have to regret, that I 
lost the opportunity of seeing him, when several years 
afterwards, having I know not what business in Philadel- 
phia which required dispatch, he called upon me one 
evening when I chanced to be out, and as he was oblig- 
ed to leave the city very early in the morning, staid in 
the hope of meeting me till a very late hour. But my 
engagements unfortunately detained me too long, and he 
had been obliged to depart before I returned. This 
could not have been long before the war, probably be- 
tween the year 1770 and l77-> when w T e had both at- 



PHILADELPHIA— PAXTON BOYS. 



39 



tained to years of manhood; but whatever may have 
been his destiny, I have never since heard of him. * 

Of all the cities in the world, Philadelphia was for its 
size, perhaps, one of the most peaceable and unwarlike ; 
and Grant was not wholly without data for supposing, 
that, with an inconsiderable force, he could make his way, 
at least, through Pennsylvania. So much had the man- 
ners of the Quakers, and its long exemption from hostile 
alarm, nourished this disposition, that a mere handful of 
lawless frontier men was found sufficient to throw the 
capital into consternation. The unpunished, and even 
applauded massacre of certain Indians at Lancaster, who, 
in the jail of that town, had vainly nattered themselves 
that they possessed an asylum, had so encouraged their 
murderers, who called themselves Paxton Boys, that 
they threatened to perpetrate the like enormity upon a 
number of other Indians, under the protection of govern- 
ment in the metropolis ; and for this purpose, they at 
length put themselves in arms, and actually began their 
march. Their force, though known to be small in the 
beginning, continually increased as it went along, the 
vires acquirit eundo being no less the attribute of terror 
than of fame. Between the two, the invaders were aug- 
mented to some thousands by the time they had ap- 
proached within a day or two's journey of their object. 
To the credit, however, of the Philadelphians, every 
possible effort was made to frustrate the inhuman design 



* It is not only possible, but probable, that he might have been one 
of the Lewis's who defeated the Indians in the great battle of Point 
Pleasant in the year 1774. There was a General and a Colonel 
Lewis, brothers, the latter of whom fell in the action. See Cum- 
ing's Tour., p. 123. 



40 PHILADELPHIA THREATENED BY A BANDITTI. 



of the banditti ; and the Quakers, as well as others, who 
had proper feelings on the occasion, exerted themselves 
for the protection of the terrified Indians, who were shut 
up in the barracks, and for whose more immediate de- 
fence, part of a British regiment of foot was stationed 
there. But the citadel, or place of arms, was in the 
very heart of the city, all around and within the old 
court-house and Friends' meeting-house. Here stood 
the artillery, under the command of Captain Loxley, a 
very honest, though little, dingy-looking man, with re- 
gimentals, considerably war-worn or tarnished ; a very 
salamander ox fire drake in the public estimation, whose 
vital air was deemed the fume of sulphureous explosion, 
and who, by whatever means he had acquired his science, 
was always put foremost when great guns were in ques- 
tion. Here it was that the grand stand was to be made 
against the approaching invaders, who, if rumour might 
be credited, had now extended their murderous pur- 
poses, beyond the savages, to their patrons and abettors. 
Hence, the cause had materially changed its complexion, 
and, instead of resting on a basis of mere humanity and 
plighted faith, it had emphatically become the cause of 
self-preservation ; little doubt being entertained that the 
capital would be sacked, in case of the predominance of 
the barbarous foe. In this state of consternation and 
dismay, all business was laid aside for the more import- 
ant occupation of arms. Drums, colours, rusty hal- 
berts and bayonets, were brought forth from their lurk- 
ing-places ; and, as every good citizen who had a sword 
had girded it to his thigh, so every one who had a gun 
had placed it on his shoulder. In short, bella, horrida 
bella, war, destructive war, was about to desolate the hi- 
therto peaceful streets of Philadelphia. 



PHILADELPHIA THREATENED BY A BANDITTI. 41 

But with all this, the old proverb was not belied ; and 
the benign influence of this ill wind was sensibly felt by 
us school-boys. The dreaded event was overbalanced in 
our minds by the holidays which were the effect of it ; 
and, so far as I can recall my feelings on the occasion, 
they very much preponderated on the side of hilarity. 

As the defensive army was without eyes, it had, of 
course, no better information than such as common bruit 
could supply ; and hence, many untoward consequences 
ensued : One was the near extinction of a troop of 
mounted butchers from Germantown, who, scampering 
down Market Street with the best intentions in the 
world, were announced as the Paxton Boys, and by this 
mistake, very narrowly escaped a greeting from the rude 
throats of Captain Loxley's artillery. The word fire 
was already quivering on his lips, but Pallas came in shape 
of something, and suppressed it. Another emanation 
from this unmilitary defect of vision was the curious or- 
der, that every householder in Market Street should af- 
fix one or more candles at his door before daylight, on 
the morning of the day, on which, from some sufficient 
reason no doubt, it had been elicited that the enemy 
would full surely make his attack, and by no other than 
this identical route, on the citadel. Whether this illu- 
mination was merely intended to prevent surprise, or 
whether it was that the commander who enjoined it was 
determined, like Ajax, that, if perish he must, he would 
perish in the face of day, I do not know, but certain it 
is, that such a decree went forth, and was religiously 
complied with. This I can affirm, from the circum- 
stance of having resided in Market Street at the time. 
The sage precaution, however, proved superfluous, al- 
though, with respect merely to the nearness of the re- 



4& PHILADELPHIA— PARTY SPIRIT. 

doubted invaders, there was colour for it. It was soon 
ascertained that they had reached Germantown, and a 
deputation of the least obnoxious citizens, with the olive 
branch, was sent out to meet them. After a parley of 
some days, an armistice was agreed upon, and peace at 
length so effectually restored, that the formidable strag- 
glers, who had excited so much terror, were permitted, 
as friends, to enter the city. 

Party spirit, at this time, ran very high, and the Pax- 
ton men were not without a number of clamorous advo- 
cates who entirely justified them on the score of their 
sufferings from the savages, who, during the war, had 
made incursions upon them, and murdered their kin- 
dred and friends. It was even alleged, that the pre- 
tended friendly Indians had been treacherous, having 
always maintained an understanding with the hostile 
ones, and frequently conducted them into our settle- 
ments : But this rested on mere suspicion, without a 
shadow of proof that ever I heard of. It was enough, 
however, to throw it out to obtain partizans to the opi- 
nion ; and, whether the Paxton men were " more sin- 
ned against than sinning," was a question which was 
agitated with so much ardour and acrimony, that even 
the school-boys became warmly engaged in the contest. 
For my own part, though of the religious sect which had 
been long warring with the Quakers, I was entirely on 
the side of humanity and public duty, (or in this, do I 
beg the question ?) and perfectly recollect my indigna- 
tion at the sentiments of one of the ushers who was on the 
opposite side. His name was Davis, and he was really a 
kind, good natured man ; yet, from the dominion of his 
religious or political prejudices, he had been led to apolo- 
gize for, if not to approve of, an outrage, which was a dis- 



PHILADELPHIA BRITISH OFFICERS. 43 

grace to a civilized people. He had been among the 
riflemen on their coming into the city, and talking with 
them upon the subject of the Lancaster massacre, and 
particularly of the killing of Will Sock, the most distin- 
guished of the victims, related with an air of approba- 
tion, this rodomontade of the real or pretended murder- 
er. " I," said he, "am the man who killed Will Sock 
— this is the arm that stabbed him to the heart, and I 
glory in it." Notwithstanding the fine colouring of 
Mr Davis, young as I was, I am happy in being able to 
say, that I felt a just contempt for the inglorious boast- 
er, who appeared to me in the light of a cowardly ruf- 
fian, instead of a hero. There was much political 
scribbling on this occasion ; and among the pamphlet- 
eers of the day, Dr Franklin drew his pen in behalf 
of the Indians, giving a very affecting narrative of 
the transaction at Lancaster, which, no doubt, had its 
effect in regulating public opinion, and thereby putting 
a stop to the further violence that was meditated. 

But it was not alone by hostile alarms that the good 
people of Philadelphia were annoyed. Their tranquilli- 
ty had been likewise disturbed by the uncitizenlike con- 
duct of a pair of British officers, who, for want of some- 
thing better to do, had plunged themselves into an ex- 
cess of intemperance ; and, in the plenitude of wine and 
hilarity, paraded the streets at all hours, 

A la clarte de cieux dans Fombre de la unit, 

to the no small terror of the sober and the timid. The 
firm of this duumvirate was Ogle and Friend, names al- 
ways coupled together, like those of Castor and Pollux, 
or of Pylades and Orestes. But the cement which con- 
nected them was scarcely so pure as that which had 



44 ANECDOTES OF OGLE AND FRIEND. 

united those heroes of antiquity. It could hardly be 
called friendship, but was rather a confederacy in de- 
bauchery and riot, exemplified in a never ending round 
of frolic and fun. It was related of Ogle, that, upon 
hiring a servant, he had stipulated with him that he 
should never get drunk but when his master was sober. 
But the fellow some time after requested his discharge, 
giving for his reason, that he had in truth no dislike to 
a social glass himself, but it had so happened, that the 
terms of the agreement had absolutely cut him off from 
any chance of ever indulging his propensity. 

Many are the pranks I have heard ascribed, either 
conjointly or separately, to this par nobile fratrum. 
That of Ogle's first appearance in Philadelphia has 
been thus related to me by Mr Will Richards, the apo- 
thecary, who, it is well known, was, from his size and 
manner, as fine a figure for Falstaff as the imagination 
can conceive. " One afternoon, 5 * said he, " an officer 
in full regimentals, booted and spurred, with a whip in 
his hand, spattered with mud from top to toe, and reel- 
ing under the effects of an overdose of liquor, made his 
entrance into the coffeehouse, in a box of which I was 
sitting, perusing a newspaper. He was probably under 
the impression, that every man he was to meet would be 
a Quaker, and that a Quaker was no other than a li- 
censed Simon Pure for his amusement : for no sooner 
had he entered, than, throwing his arms about the neck 
of Mr Joshua Fisher, with the exclamation of — ' Ah, 
my dear Broadbrim, give me a kiss,' he began to slaver 
him most lovingly. As Joshua was a good deal embar- 
rassed by the salutation, and wholly unable to parry the 
assault or shake off the fond intruder, I interfered in his 
behalf, and effected a separation, when Ogle, turning to 



ANECDOTES OF OGLE AND FRIEND. 



45 



me, cried out, e Hah ! my jolly fellow, give me a 
smack of your fat chops/ and immediately fell to hug- 
ging and kissing me, as he had done Fisher. But, in- 
stead of the coyness he had shown, I hugged and kissed 
in my turn as hard as I was able, until my weight at 
length brought Ogle to the floor and myself on top of 
him : Nevertheless, I kept kissing away, until nearly 
mashed and suffocated, he exclaimed, * For heaven's 
sake let me up, let me up, or you will smother me !* 
Having sufficiently tormented him and avenged Joshua 
Fisher, I permitted him to rise, when he seemed a good 
deal sobered, and finding that I was neither a Quaker 
nor wholly ignorant of the world, he evinced some 
respect for me, took a seat with me in a box, and enter- 
ing into conversation, soon discovered, that, however he 
might be disguised by intoxication, he well knew what 
belonged to the character of a gentleman." — " This, 5 ' 
said Richards, " was the commencement of an acquaint- 
ance between us ; and Captain Ogle sometimes called 
to see me, upon which occasions he always behaved with 
the utmost propriety and decorum." 

This same coffeehouse, the only one, indeed, in the 
city, was also the scene of another affray by Ogle and 
Friend in conjunction. I know not what particular acts 
of mischief they had been guilty of, but they were very 
drunk, and their conduct so extremely disquieting and 
insulting to the peaceable citizens there assembled, that, 
being no longer able to endure it, it was judged expedi- 
ent to commit them ; and Mr Chew happening to be 
there, undertook, in virtue probably of his office of re- 
corder, to write their commitment : But Ogle, faceti- 
ously jogging his elbow, and interrupting him with a re- 
petition of the pitiful interjection of " Ah now, Mr 



46 



ANECDOTES OF OGLE AND FRIEND. 



Chew f" he was driven from his gravity, and obliged to 
throw away the pen. It was then taken up by Alder- 
man M n, with a determination to go through with 

the business, when the culprits reeling round him, and 
Ogle in particular, hanging over his shoulder and read- 
ing after him as he wrote, at length, with irresistible ef- 
fect, hit upon an unfortunate oversight of the alderman. 
" Ay," says he, " my father was a justice of peace too, 
but he did not spell that word as you do. I remember 
perfectly well, that, instead of an S, he always used to 
spell circumstance with a C." This sarcastic thrust 
at the scribe entirely turned the tide in favour of the 
rioters, and the company being disarmed of their resent- 
ment, the alderman had no disposition to provoke further 
criticism by going on with the mittimus. 

The irregularities of these gay rakes were not more 
eccentric than diversified ; and the more extravagant 
they could render them, the better. At one time, they 
would drive full tilt through the streets in a chair ; and 
upon one of these occasions, on approaching a boom 
which had been thrown across the street, in a part that 
was undergoing the operation of paving, they lashed for- 
ward their steed, and sousing against the spar with great 
violence, they were consequently hurled from their seats, 
like Don Quixote in his temerarious assault of the wind- 
mills, At another time, at Dr Orme's the apothe- 
cary, where Ogle lodged, they, in emulation of the same 
mad hero at the puppet-show, laid about them with 
their canes upon the defenceless bottles and phials, at 
the same time assaulting a diminutive Maryland parson, 
whom, in their frolic, they kicked from the street door 
to the kitchen. He was a fellow lodger of Ogle's, and, 
to make him some amends for the roughness of this 



ANECDOTES OF OGLE AND FRIEND. 



47 



usage, they shortly after took him drunk to the dancing 
assembly, where, through the instrumentality of this un- 
worthy son of the church, they contrived to excite a 
notable hubbub. Though they had escaped, as already 
mentioned, at the coffeehouse, yet their repeated mal- 
feasances had brought them within the notice of the civil 
authority ; and they had more than once been in the 

clutches of the mayor of the city. This was Mr S , 

a small man, of a squat, bandy-legged figure ; and hence, 
by way of being revenged on him, they bribed a negro, 
with a precisely similar pair of legs, to carry him a bil- 
let, which imported, that, as the bearer had in vain 
searched the town for a pair of hose that might fit him, 
he now applied to his honour to be informed where he 
purchased his stockings. 

I have been told that General Lee, when a captain in 
the British service, had got involved in this vortex of 
dissipation ; and although afterwards so strenuous an 
advocate for the civil rights of the Americans, had been 
made to smart severely for their violation, by the may- 
or's court of Philadelphia. 

The common observation, that, when men become 
soldiers, they lose the character and feelings of citizens, 
was amply illustrated by the general conduct of the Bri- 
tish officers in America. Their studied contempt of 
the mohairs, by which term all those who were not in 
uniform were distinguished, was manifest on all occa- 
sions. And it is by no means improbable, that the dis- 
gust then excited might have more easily ripened into 
that harvest of discontent which subsequent injuries call- 
ed forth, and which terminated in a subduction of alle- 
giance from the parent land. 

At the era of these various intestine commotions, I 



48 



author's early habits. 



could not have more than completed my twelfth year. 
My attention to my school exercises, as already observ- 
ed, was not at this time to be complained of ; and a part 
of my evenings was either employed in writing them or 
committing them to memory. In relation to the latter, 
I will mention a circumstance which to me appeared re- 
markable, though perhaps it was not peculiar. After 
labouring in vain to master my task, I have gone to bed, 
scarcely able to repeat a line of it, but in the morning 
when I awoke, it has been perfect in my memory. The 
same thing has often occurred in respect to tunes I have 
been desirous of acquiring ; and, indeed, I have ever 
found, that the morning w 7 as the propitious season for 
the exertion of my mental faculties. But though not 
materially deficient in attention, it had not the smallest 
reference to' future utility ; and something less than 

A wizard miglit have said, 
I ne'er should rise by benefice or trade. 

A scramble was ever my aversion, and the unthriftiness 
of my character might also have been inferred, from my 
indifference to those games which have gain for their ob- 
ject. I never could boast my winnings at marbles or 
chuckers, and as I chiefly played them for pastime, I 
never attained to that degree of perfection in them, 
which the keener stimulus of profit is calculated to pro- 
duce, and which alone perhaps can lead to the fame of a 
dabster. When in possession of any of these imple- 
ments that were reckoned handsome or good, I never 
felt the inclination I have observed in those of better 
trading parts, of turning them into pence ; with me 
they were hobby-horses, not articles of commerce \ and 
though I had no dislike to money, it never impressed 

10 



author's early amusements. 



49 



me as a primary good, a circumstance more essential 
than may be imagined, to what is called success in life. 
I do not speak of this as a virtue, and if it were one, I 
have certainly little reason to rejoice in it. It is not 
one of those, at least, which leads to riches and advance- 
ment ; or which, under the world's law, has a right to 
look for other than its own reward. In gymnastic ex- 
ercises, however, my relish was keen and altogether or- 
thodox. For those of running, leaping, swimming, and 
skating, no one had more appetite ; and for the enjoy- 
ment of these, fatigue and hunger were disregarded. 
To these succeeded a passion for fowling and boating, 
fishing being too sedentary and inactive for my taste. 
If furnished on Saturday afternoon, or other holiday, 
with cash enough for the purchase of powder and shot, 
or the hire of a batteau or skiff, as the propensity of the 
day might incline, I had nothing more to wish for. In 
my land rambles, the environs of Philadelphia, for several 
miles round, were thoroughly traversed, from the up- 
lands of Springetsbury, Bush-hill, and Centre-wood, to 
the low grounds and meadows of Passyunk and Moya- 
mensing ; while, in my water excursions, the sedgy 
shores of the Delaware, as well as the reedy cover of 
Pettys, League, and Mud Islands, were pervaded and 
explored in pursuit of ducks, reed-bird, and rail. No 
pestilent vapours then arose from these marshes ; and, in- 
stead of the deadly fevers which have since proceeded 
from, or been fostered by them, their effluvia gave a zest 
to the cold morsel in the locker. 

But notwithstanding the ardour with which these sports 
were pursued, I not unfrequently surrendered myself to 
the reveries of a pleasing melancholy, to which I have 
ever been occasionally inclined. For hours together 

D 



50 



author's early amusements. 



have I sat alone, listening to the church bells, which it 
was the custom to ring on the evening before market 
day, and which, from the back part of a house wherein 
we sometime resided on the south side of Arch Street, 
were heard to much advantage. Rousseau, who takes 
great pains to represent himself as different from all 
others, and who seems to suppose that the mould in which 
he was cast has been broken, informs us, that the chime 
of bells always singularly affected him. But the lively 
testimony of my own feelings assures me, that never, not 
even on the day when he took a ramble in the suburbs 
of Annecy while Madam de Warrens was at vespers, 
and gave himself up to those delightful illusions, of 
.which he has given so enchanting a description, was he 
more under the influence of their transporting sounds 
than I have been. How often has the simple melody of 
Turn again Wittington, " resounding through the 
empty- vaulted night," completely lifted me from the 
earth ; absorbed me in etherial visions, and sublimed me 
into such abstraction from this low world and its con- 
cerns, as to identify my conceptions with those of the 
poet, when he exclaims, 

How vain the ardour of the crowd, 
How low, how little are the proud, 
How indigent the great ! 

The amusements I have been speaking of were of no 
advantage to me as a student ; but what was lost to the 
mind by my strong addiction to active recreations was 
gained to the body ; and tended to invigorate a consti- 
tution naturally tender. My exercises were often car- 
ried to toil. I was extremely fond of rowing, and took 
great delight in feathering my oar, sometimes skimming 
it along the surface of the water in the manner of a 



SCHOOL ANECDOTES. 



51 



wherryman, sometimes resting it horizontally between 
the thole pins in the fashion of a bargeman. I had also 
made some proficiency in sculling, which appeared to 
me a highly enviable qualification ; but the trimming of 
sails, laying a boat to the wind, with the management of 
the helm and the application of the proper terms, were, 
in my eyes, acquisitions more truly honourable than the 
best of those which are attained in a college. The sub- 
ject recalls a memorable expedition I engaged in, when 
perhaps about the age of thirteen. Returning from 
morning school at eight o'clock, a boy, a brother of the 
late Mr Robert Morris, proposed an excursion to Ches- 
ter, for the purpose of seeing the Coventry frigate which 
there rode at anchor. From an over greediness of gra- 
tification, his plan was to have two boats, whereas one 
would have been very ample for four of us, the number of 
the company. But then the projector of the voyage might 
have found competitors for the helm, which he wished 
to engross ; and had, accordingly, secured an unambi- 
tious ship mate, in a son of Captain Loxley, of Paxton- 
war memory, already mentioned. A skiff he had alrea- 
dy prepared for himself and his comrade, and suggested 
where a batteau might be obtained for the other two of 
the party, one Corbett, from the island of Montserrat, 
and myself. Each boat had a sail, and he observed, that, 
as the wind and tide would be favourable, we could run 
down in a few hours. I objected, that I had not break- 
fasted. Neither had he, he said, nor indeed any of us ; 
but this was of little consequence, as we could furnish 
ourselves with cakes. My mind fluctuated a while be- 
tween the charms of the adventure, and the impropriety 
of going without permission, and, consequently, subject- 
ing my mother to a most distressing state of anxiety on 



SAILING EXCURSION. 



my account : For I was neither an habitual truant-play- 
er, nor a contemner of the feelings of a most affectionate 
parent, though I should have been ashamed to have said 
so. But such was the eagerness for the frolic with my 
associates) that it would not admit of a moment's delay ; 
and the allurements of pleasure proving too potent for 
principle, I yielded to persuasion, and we embarked. 
It was a fine morning ; a gentle breeze propelled us in 
our course, and in a few hours we were delightfully 
wafted to the place of destination. We saw the frigate, 
had the pleasure of sailing round her, the satisfaction of 
counting her guns, of contemplating her bright sides, (for 
she appeared to be new,) of admiring her rigging, and 
the duck-like beauty with which she sat upon the water. 
But here fruition ended. "Water excursions are keen 
whetters of the appetite, and the calls of hunger began 
to be importunate. I forget whether we had taken any 
cakes with us, but if we had, the supply had been very 
insufficient for the day's provision. Hereupon, a can- 
vass took place of the state of our pockets : they were 
found empty and pennyless. We were, in short, a mi- 
serable crew of Gautiers sans argent, and being toa 
proud to beg for victuals, we had no resource but un- 
ripe fruit. As the wind was unfavourable to our return, 
we were obliged to wait for the turning of the tide, and, 
in the mean time, employed ourselves in sauntering 
about the village, the orchards, and the shore. We 
found, too, that we were very much out in our reckoning, 
the tide of flood not making for above an hour later than 
our calculation. At length, however, we had the satis- 
faction to find, that the marks we made in the sand were 
unequivocally encroached upon by the water, and that 

floating substances were at a stand,, if not really changed 

1 



SWIMMING AND SKATING. 



53 



in their direction. We hailed the event, and immedi- 
ately embarked. But now our toils began. It was al- 
ready late in the afternoon ; The wind, still ahead, had 
considerably increased, and the lowering aspect of the 
sky indicated approaching rain. It came on about dusk, 
and in this situation we had to tug at our oars like galley 
slaves, for the whole distance of from sixteen to eighteen 
miles. Then it was we perceived the folly of our two 
boats. It was between ten and eleven at night when we 
reached the city, wet, almost starved, and exhausted 
with labour. As 1 well knew what must be my mother's 
cruel situation, I hastened to show myself, and found her 
a prey to the most afflicting uncertainty. She had not 
been able to obtain any satisfactory tidings of me, and 
knew not what to conclude. My trespass, however, be- 
ing readily forgiven, I appeased my hunger and went to 
bed. Extreme fatigue, especially when it has been 
mingled with anxiety, is unfavourable to repose, and I 
slept but ill. I was tormented with distressing dreams, 
contending, as it seemed, with tasks above my strength, 
and buffeting with waves "in night and tempest wrapt." 

Borne by th' outrageous flood 
To distance down, I ride the ridgy wave, 
Or whelm'd beneath the boiling eddy, sink. 

The exercises of swimming and skating were so 
much within the reach of the boys of Philadelphia, that 
it would have been surprising had they neglected them, 
or even had they not excelled in them. Both Dela- 
ware and Schuylkill present the most convenient and de- 
lightful shores for the former, whilst the heat and the 
length of the summers invite to the luxury of bathing ; 
and the same rivers seldom fail in winter to offer the 
means of enjoying the latter j and when they do, the 



54 



SWIMMING AND SKATIKG. 



ponds always afford them. Since the art of swimming 
has been, in some degree, dignified by Dr Franklin's 
having been a teacher of it, and having made it the sub- 
ject of a dissertation, I may, perhaps, be warranted in 
bringing forward my remark. When in practice, I ne- 
ver felt myself spent with it ; and though I never un- 
dertook to swim further than across Schuylkill, at or 
near the middle ferry where the bridge now stands, it 
appeared to me that I could have continued the exer- 
cise for hours, and consequently have swum some miles. 
To recover breath, I only found it necessary to turn 
upon my back, in which position, with my arms across 
my body or pressed to my side, since moving them, 
as many do, answers no other purpose than to retard 
and fatigue the swimmer ; my lungs had free play, and 
I felt myself as perfectly at ease, as if reclined on a sofa. 
In short, no man can be an able swimmer, who only 
swims with his face downward ; the pressure of the wa- 
ter on the breast is an impediment to respiration in that 
attitude, which, for that reason, cannot be long conti- 
nued ; whereas, the only inconvenience in the supine 
posture is, that the head sinks so low, that the ears are 
liable to receive water, a consequence which might be 
prevented by stopping them with wool or cotton, or co- 
vering them with a bathing-cap. 

With respect to skating, though the Philadelphians 
have never reduced it to rules like the Londoners, nor 
connected it with their business like Dutchmen, I will 
yet hazard the opinion, that they were the best and 
most elegant skaters in the world. I have seen New 
England skaters, Old England skaters, and Holland 
skaters, but the best of them could but make " the ju- 
dicious grieve.' ' I was once slightly acquainted with a 



PHILADELPHIA SKATING. 



55 



worthy gentleman, the quondam member of a skating 
club in London, and it must be admitted, that he per- 
formed very well for an Englishman. His High 
Dutch, or, as he better termed it, his outer edge skat- 
ing, might, for aught I know, have been exactly con- 
formable to the statutes of this institution : To these he 
would often appeal ; and I recollect the principal one 
was, that each stroke should describe an exact semicir- 
cle. Nevertheless, his style was what we should deem 
a very bad one. An utter stranger to the beauty of 
bringing forward the suspended foot towards the middle 
of the stroke, and boldly advancing it before the other, 
at the conclusion of it, thus to preserve, throughout his 
course, a continuity of movement, to rise like an ascend- 
ing wave to its acme, then, gracefully like a descending 
one, to glide into the succeeding stroke without effort, 
either real or apparent — every change of foot with this 
gentleman seemed a beginning of motion, and required 
a most unseemingly jerk of the body ; an unequivocal 
evidence of the want of that power, which depends upon 
a just balance, and should never be lost — which carries 
the skater forward with energy without exertion ; and 
is as essential to his swift and graceful career, as is a 
good head of water to the velocity of a mill wheel. 
Those who have seen good skating will comprehend 
what I mean, still better those who are adepts them- 
selves ; but excellence in the art can never be gained by 
geometrical rules. The two reputed best skaters of my 
day were General Cadwaliader, and Massey the biscuit- 
baker ; but I could name many others, both of the aca- 
demy and Quaker school, who were in no degree infe- 
rior to them ; whose action and attitudes were equal- 
ly graceful, and, like theirs, no less worthy of the chi- 



56 



CORRECTION OF THE ABBE EAYNAL. 



sel than those, which, in other exercises, have been se- 
lected to display the skill of the eminent sculptors of an- 
tiquity. I here speak, be it observed, of what the Phi- 
ladelphians were, not what they are, since I am unac- 
quainted with the present state of the art \ and as, from 
my lately meeting with young men, who, though bred in 
the city, had not learnt to swim, I infer the probability 
that skating is equally on the decline. 

The Abbe Raynal, when speaking of Philadelphia, in 
his Philosophical History of the East and West Indies, 
observes, that the houses are covered with slate, a mate- 
rial amply supplied from quarries in the neighbourhood. 
But, unfortunately for the source from which the Abbe 
derived this piece of information, there were no such 
quarries near the city that ever I heard of, and certainly 
but a single house in it with this kind of roof ; which, 
from that circumstance, was distinguished by the name 
of The Slate House. It stood in Second Street, at the 
corner of Norris's Alley, and was a singular old fashion- 
ed structure, laid out in the style of a fortification, with 
abundance of angles, both salient and re-entering. Its 
two wings projected to the street, in the manner of bas- 
tions ; to which the main building, retreating from six- 
teen to eighteen feet, served for a curtain. Within it 
was cut up into a number of apartments, and, on that 
account, was exceedingly well adapted to the purpose of 
a lodging-house ; to which use it had been long appro- 
priated. An additional convenience was a spacious yard 
on the back of it, extending half way to Front Street, 
enclosed by a high wall, and ornamented with a double 
row of venerable lofty pines, which afforded a very agree- 
able ?*us in urbe, or rural scene, in the heart of the city. 
The lady who had resided here, and given some cele- 



LODGING-HOUSE, 



57 



brity to the stand by the style of her accommodations, 
either dying or declining business, my mother was per- 
suaded by her friends to become her successor ; and, ac- 
cordingly, obtained a lease of the premises, and took pos- 
session of them, to the best of my recollection, in the 
year 1764 or 1765. While in this residence, and in a 
still more commodious one in the upper part of Front 
Street, to which she, some years afterwards, removed, 
she had the honour, if so it might be called, of enter- 
taining strangers of the first rank who visited the city. 
Those who have seen better days, but have been com- 
pelled, by hard necessity, to submit to a way of life, 
which, to a feeling mind, whoever may be the guests, is 
sufficiently humiliating, are much indebted to Mr Gib- 
bon, for the handsome manner in which he speaks of the 
hostess of a boarding-house at Lausanne. With the de- 
licacy of a gentleman, and the discernment of a man of 
the world, the historian dares to recognise that worth 
and refinement are not confined to opulence or station ; 
and that although, in the keeper of a house of public en- 
tertainment, these qualities are not much to be looked 
for, yet, when they do occur, the paying for the comforts 
and attentions we receive does not exempt us from the 
courtesy of an apparent equality and obligation. An 
equally liberal way of thinking is adopted by Mr Cum- 
berland, who tells us, in his Memoirs, that the British 
Coffeehouse was kept by a Mrs Anderson, a person of 
great respectability. If, then, an education and situation 
in early life, which enabled my mother to maintain an 
intercourse in the best families in the city ; pretensions 
in no degree impaired by her matrimonial connection, 
or an industrious irreproachable conduct in her succeed- 
ing years of widowhood, can give a claim to respect, I 



58 LODGING-HOUSE GUESTS BARON DE KALE. 

have a right to say with Mr Cumberland, that the prin- 
cipal lodging-house in Philadelphia was kept by a person 
of great respectability. 

A biographical sketch of the various personages, who, 
in the course of eight or nine years, became inmates of 
this house, might, from the hand of a good delineator, 
be both curious and amusing. Among these were per- 
sons of distinction, and some of no distinction \ many 
real gentlemen, and some, no doubt, who were merely 
pretenders to the appellation. Some attended by ser- 
vants in gay liveries ; some with servants in plain coats, 
and some with no servants at all. It was rarely without 
officers of the British army. It was, at different times, 
nearly filled by those of the forty-second or Highland 
regiment, as also by those of the Royal Irish, Besides 
these, it sometimes accommodated officers of other armies 
and other uniforms. Of this description was the Baron 
de Kalb, who visited this country, probably about the 
year I768 or 1769 ; and who fell a major-general in the 
army of the United States, at the battle of Cambden. 
Though a German by birth, he had belonged to the 
French service, and had returned to France, after the 
visit just mentioned. During our revolutionary contest, 
he came to tender us his services, and returned no more. 
The steady and composed demeanour of the Baron be- 
spoke the soldier and philosopher ; the man who had 
calmly estimated life and death ; and who, though not 
prodigal of the one, had no unmanly dread of the other. 
He was not, indeed, a young man ; and his behaviour at 
the time of his death, as I have heard it described by 
Mons. Dubuisson, his aid-de-camp, was exactly conforma- 
ble to what might have been supposed from his character. 
Another of our foreign guests was one Badourin, who 



BARON DE KALE LADY MOORE. 



59 



wore a white cockade, and gave himself out for a general 
in the Austrian service ; but, whether general or not, 
he, one night, very unexpectedly, left his quarters, ma- 
king a masterly retreat, with the loss of no other bag- 
gage than that of an old trunk, which, when opened, was 
found to contain only a few old Latin and German books. 
Among the former was a folio, bound in parchment, 
which I have now before me. It is a ponderous tract of 
the mystical Robert Fludd, alias De Fluctibus, printed 
at Oppenheim, in the year 1618, and, in part, dedicated 
to the Duke of Guise, whom, the author informs us, he 
had instructed in the art of war. It is to this writer, pro- 
bably, that Butler thus alludes in his Hudibras : — 

He, Anthroposophus and Floud, 
And Jacob Behman understood. 

From this work of Mr Fludd, which, among a fund of 
other important matter, treats of astrology and divina- 
tion, it is not improbable that its quondam possessor, Mr 
Badourin, might have been a mountebank conjurer, in- 
stead of a general. 

Among those of rank from Great Britain with whose 
residence we were honoured, I recollect Lady Moore 
and her daughter, a sprightly miss, not far advanced in 
her teens, and who having apparently no dislike to be 
seen, had more than once attracted my attention ; for I 
was just touching that age when such objects begin to be 
interesting, and excite feelings which disdain the invidi- 
ous barriers with which the pride of condition would sur- 
round itself. Not that the young lady was stately ; my 
vanity rather hinted, she was condescendingly courteous ; 
and I had, no doubt, read of women of quality falling in 
love with their inferiors. Nevertheless, the extent of my 

4 



60 LADY SUSAN OBRIEN— SIR WILLIAM DRAPER. 



presumption was a look or a bow, as she now and then 
tripped along through the entry. Another was Lady 
Susan Obrien, not more distinguished by her title than 
by her husband, who accompanied her, and had figured 
as a comedian on the London stage, in the time of Gar- 
rick, Mossop, and Barry. Although Churchhill charges 
him with being an imitator of Woodward, he yet admits 
him to be a man of parts ; and he has been said to have 
surpassed all his contemporaries in the character of the 
fine gentleman ; in his easy manner of treading the stage, 
and particularly of drawing his sword 5 to which action 
he communicated a swiftness and a grace which Garrick 
imitated, but could not equal. Obrien is presented to 
my recollection as a man of the middle height, with a 
symmetrical form, rather light than athletic. Employed 
by the father to instruct Lady Susan in elocution, he 
taught her, it seems, that it was no sin to love ; for she 
became his wife 5 and, as I have seen it mentioned in the 
Theatrical Mirror, obtained for him, through the inte- 
rest of her family, a post in America. But what this post 
was, or where it located him, I never heard. 

A third person of celebrity and title was Sir William 
Draper, who made a tour to this country a short time 
after his newspaper encounter with Junius. It has even 
been suggested that this very incident sent the knight on 
his travels. Whether or not it had so important a con- 
sequence, it cannot be denied that Sir William caught a 
tartar in Junius ; and that, when he commenced his at- 
tack, he had evidently underrated his adversary. 

During his stay in Philadelphia, no one was so assidu- 
ous in his attentions to him as Mr Richardson, better 
known at that time by the name of Frank Richardson, 
then from England on a visit to his friends. This gen- 



SIR WILLIAM DRAPER — FRANK RICHARDSON. 61 

tleman was one of the most singular and successful of 
American adventurers. The son of one of our plainest 
Quakers, he gave early indications of that cast of charac- 
ter which has raised him to his present station, that of a 
colonel in the British Guards. At a time, when such 
attainments formed no part of education in Pennsylvania, 
he sedulously employed himself in acquiring skill in the 
use of the small sword and the pistol, as if to shine as a 
duellist had been the first object of his ambition. 
Either from a contempt for the dull pursuits of the 
" home-keeping youth" of his day, or from the singu- 
larity of his propensities repelling association, he was so- 
litary and rarely with companions. Fair and delicate to 
effeminacy, he paid great attention to his person, which 
he had the courage to invest in scarlet, in defiance of 
the society to which he belonged, in whose mind's eye, 
perhaps as to that of the blind man of Locke, this colour 
from their marked aversion to it, resembles the sound of 
a trumpet ; and no less in defiance of the plain manners 
of a city, in which, except on the back of a soldier, a red 
coat was a phenomenon, and always indicated a Creole, 
a Carolinian, or a dancing-master. With these qualifi- 
cations, and these alone perhaps, Mr Richardson, at an 
early age, shipped himself for England, where soon, hav- 
ing the good fortune to establish a reputation for courage 
by drawing his sword in behalf of a young man of rank, 
in a broil at the theatre, he was received into the best 
company, and thence laid the foundation of his prefer- 
ment. Such, at least, was the generally received ac- 
count of his rise. But whether accurate or not, his in- 
timate footing with Sir William is an evidence of the 
style of his company whilst abroad, as well as of the pro- 



62 



FRANK RICHARDSON ANECDOTE. 



priety of his conclusion, that his native land was not his 
sphere. 

As the story went : On Mr Richardson's first going 
to England, he happened to be in the same lodgings 
with Foote the comedian, with whom he became inti- 
mate. One day, upon his coming out of his chamber, 
" liichardson," says Foote to him, " a person has just 
been asking for you, who expressed a strong desire to see 
you, and pretended to be an old Philadelphia acquaint- 
ance. But I knew better, for he was a d d ill-look- 
ing fellow, and I have no doubt the rascal was a bailiff ; 
so I told him you were not at home." But here either 
Foote's sagacity had been at fault, or he had been play- 
ing off a stroke of his humour, the visitor having really 
been no other than Mr , a respectable mer- 
chant of Philadelphia, though not a figure the most de- 
bonnair to be sure. 

From Philadelphia, Sir William passed on to New 
York, where, if I mistake not, he married. During his 
residence in that city, he frequently amused himself 
with a game of rackets, which he played with some ad- 
dress 5 and he set no small value on the talent. There 
was a mechanic in the place, the hero of the tennis 
court, who was so astonishingly superior to other men, 
that there were few whom he could not beat with one 
hand attached to the handle of a wheelbarrow. Sir Wil- 
liam wished to play with him, and was gratified; the 
New Yorker having urbanity enough to cede the splen- 
did stranger some advantages, and even in conquering, 
to put on the appearance of doing it with difficulty : Yet, 
apart, he declared that he could have done the same with 
the incumbrance of the wheelbarrow. These are hear- 



MAJOR ETHEUIXGTON. 



63 



say facts : They come, however, from persons of credit, 
in the way of being acquainted with them. 

But what imports it the reader to know, that Sir Wil- 
liam Draper was a racket player ? Nothing, certainly, 
unless we reflect, that he was a conspicuous character, the 
conqueror of Manilla, and still more, the literary oppo- 
nent of Junius. Without granting something to cele- 
brity of this latter sort, what possible interest could we 
take in learning that Dr Johnson liked a leg of pork, or 
that he could swallow twelve or more cups of tea at a sit- 
ting ? 

Major George Etherington, of the Royal Ameri- 
cans, was an occasional inmate of our house, from its 
first establishment on the large scale, until the time of 
its being laid down, about the year 177^. He seemed 
to be always employed in the recruiting service, in the 
performance of which he had a snug economical method 
of his own. He generally dispensed with the noisy 
ceremony of a recruiting coterie ; for having, as it was 
said, and I believe truly, passed through the principal 
grades in its composition, namely, those of drummer and 
serjeant, he was a perfect master of the inveigling arts 
which are practised on the occasion, and could fulfil, at 
a pinch, all the duties himself. The major's forte was a 
knowledge of mankind, of low life especially ; and he 
seldom scented a subject that he did not, in the end, 
make his prey. He knew his man, and could immedi- 
ately discover a fish that would bite : Hence, he wasted 
no time in angling in wrong waters. His superior 
height, expansive frame, and muscular limbs, gave him a 
commanding air among the vulgar ; and, while enforcing 
his suit with all the flippancy of halbert elocution, he fa- 
miliarly held his booby by the button, his small, black, 



64 



MAJOR ETHERINGTON — ANECDOTE. 



piercing eyes, which derived additional animation from 
the intervention of a sarcastic, upturned nose, penetrat- 
ed to the fellow's soul, and gave him distinct intelligence 
of what was passing there. In fact, I have never seen a 
man with a cast of countenance so extremely subtile and 
investigating. I have myself, more than once, under- 
gone its scrutiny ; for he took a very friendly interest in 
my welfare, evinced by an occasional superintendence of 
my education, in so far, at least, as respects the exterior 
accomplishments. Above all things, he enjoined upon 
me the cultivation of the French language, of which he 
had himself acquired a smattering from a temporary re- 
sidence in Canada ; and he gave me a pretty sharp lec- 
ture upon a resolution I had absurdly taken up, not to 
learn dancing, from an idea of its being an effeminate 
and unmanly recreation. He combated my folly with 
arguments, of which I have since felt the full force ; but 
which, as they turned upon interests, I was then too 
young to form conceptions of, they produced neither con- 
viction nor effect. Fortunately for me, I had to deal 
with a man who was not thus to be baffled. He very 
properly assumed the rights of mature age and ex- 
perience, and, accordingly, one day, on my return from 
school, he accosted me with, " Come here, young man, 
I have something to say to you," and with a mysterious 
air conducted me to his chamber. Here I found myself 
entrapped. Godwin, the assistant of Tioli the dancing- 
master, was prepared to give me a lesson. Etherington 
introduced me to him as the pupil he had been speaking 
of, and saying, he would leave us to ourselves, he polite- 
ly retired. The arrangement with Tioli was, that I 
should be attended in the major's room until I was suf- 
ficiently drilled for the public school ; and the ice thus 



MAJOR ETHERINGTON ANECDOTE, 65 

broken, I went on, and, instead of standing in a corner, 
like a goose on one leg, (the major's comparison,) 
" while music softens, and while dancing fires, 5 ' 1 be- 
came qualified for the enjoyment of female society, in 
one of its most captivating forms. 

Major Etherington had a brother in the rank of a cap- 
tain, so like himself, as to realize the story of the two So- 
sias, and to remove half the improbability of the plot of 
Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. Any one, at a first 
sight, might have mistaken the one for the other, at least I 
did for a moment ; but on a close inspection it would be 
discovered, that the captain was more scant in his propor- 
tions, as well as several years younger than his brother. 
Tom, for so the captain was familiarly called by the ma- 
jor, had taken his turn to recruit in Philadelphia, while 
his superior was employed elsewhere. From a compara- 
tively weaker discernment of human character, he had 
enlisted a lad, and converted him into his waiting man, 
whom George, on a junction which soon after took place, 
pronounced to be a fool, and wholly unfit for a soldier. 
This the captain denied strenuously, and the question 
became the frequent topic of good humoured altercation 
between them, until an incident occurred which gave the 
major an unequivocal triumph. One morning very ear- 
ly, the brothers lodging in the same apartment, this 
recruit, and, for the first time, common servant of the 
two, softly approached the bed of the major, and gent- 
ly tapping him on the shoulder to awaken him, very 
sapiently inquired, if he might clean his shoes. George, 
with infinite presence of mind, replied, that it was not 
material, but "go (says he) and ask my brother Tom if 
you may clean his." The poor fellow did as he was 
bid, and probably as he would have done if he had not 

E 



66 



MAJOR ETHERINGTON. 



been bidden ; and Tom's slumbers became victims also 
to the same momentous investigation. The major took 
care to relate the circumstance at the breakfast table, 
and, of course, obtained a unanimous suffrage to his opi- 
nion, that the captain's recruit was not exceeding wise. 

Although Etherington was extremely deficient in li- 
terature, few persons possessed more acuteness of intel- 
lect, or a happier talent for prompt replication. A 
warm dispute having one day taken place at the coffee- 
house between Mr Bradford, who kept it, and Mr De- 
lancey of New York, in which the parties appeared to 
be proceeding to blows, Major Etherington stepped be- 
tween them and separated them. The next day, on a 
supposition of partiality to Delancey, he was roundly 
taken to task by Bradford. He observed, that he had 
merely interfered as a common friend to both. No, Sir, 
said Bradford, you were the decided champion of Delan- 
cey, you laid your hands upon me, and kept your face 
to me, while your back was turned to him. Very well 
then, Sir, said Etherington, with quickness, I treated 
you politely, and Mr Delancey with a rudeness for 
which I owe him an apology. A ready, unexpected turn 
of this kind, has always a good effect on the bystanders, 
and they accordingly lent their aid in restoring good 
humour. 

As I have said that the major commenced his milita- 
ry career in the humblest walks of his profession, the 
reader may expect to hear of the exploits which produ- 
ced his extraordinary promotion. But it was not to 
martial prowess that he owed it. The world gave out, 
that a certain wealthy widow of the county of Newcas- 
tle became enamoured of him, and first purchased him 
a commission. His saving knowledge soon enabled him 



MAJOR ETHERINGTON. 



67 



to purchase a better one, and from a captaincy, the sta- 
tion in which I first knew him, he had risen to that of a 
colonel when I last saw him in Philadelphia, just at the 
approach of the war. What then brought him there is 
uncertain. He was, however, taken notice of by the 
committee of safety ; required to hasten his departure, 
and, in the mean time, put under his parole. He en- 
deavoured to make a jest of the matter, by assuring 
them, that they need not be under the least apprehen- 
sion of his going an inch nearer to the scene where 
fighting was to be looked for. He several times called 
to see us while in town, and observing me in the light 
infantry uniform, he undertook to recommend to me, be- 
tween banter and earnest, that, if I inclined to a milita- 
ry life, at once to get a commission in the British ser- 
vice, which he would charge himself to procure for me : 
that, as to our idle parade in war, it would vanish in 
smoke, or, if seriously persisted in, would infallibly ter- 
minate in our disgrace, if not ruin. I asked him if he 
had been to see us exercise. " Oh no," said he, 
" that would be highly improper ; we make it a point 
in the army never to look at awkward men ; we hold it 
unpolite." The colonel was, no doubt, correct in his 
opinion of our tactics ; though I was nettled a little at 
his contemptuous manner of treating us. But I here 
dismiss him with the observation, that he was a singular 
man, who knew the world, and turned that knowledge 
to his advantage. He had certainly much mental abili- 
ty, and of a cast which he himself would have well qua- 
lified him for the bar ; a profession for which, he has 
told me, nature intended him. In this estimate of his ta- 
lents, however, it is not improbable that he might have 
attributed too much to management and chicane, which 



68 



MAJORS SMALL AND FELL. 



had essentially availed him in the business of recruit- 
ing : for he valued himself upon them here ; and I well 
remember, that, upon my mother's telling him of Cap- 
tain Anstruther, who had recruited in his absence, send- 
ing a drum about before he left the city, to proclaim, 
that, if any one had been aggrieved by him or his party, 
to call upon him and he should be redressed, he replied, 

— " And wasn't he a d d fool for his pains ?" In 

mentioning Captain Anstruther, it occurs to me, that 
he may be the same who is stated to have fallen as a 
general officer in the battle of Corunna. 

There were two other majors, with whose company 
we were a long time favoured. These were Majors 
Small and Fell ; and if names had any appropriation to 
the persons of those who bear them, these might very 
well have been interchanged; for Small was a stout, 
athletic man, who might be supposed to possess a capa- 
city for Jelling, while the other was one of the smallest 
men I have seen. Some one asking one day if Major 
Small was at home ? " No," says Fell, " but the small 
major is." Small is a principal figure in Trumbull's 
print of the death of Warren. He is represented in the 
humane attitude of putting aside with his sword a 
British bayonet, aimed at the breast of the dying pa- 
triot. 

Another officer of the British army who was some- 
time our inmate, is suggested by a notice of his death 
in the Monthly Magazine of March 1807. This was 
General John Reid, who is stated to have died in his 
87th year, the oldest officer in the service. In this ac- 
count of him it is said, that, in the meridian of his life, he 
was esteemed the best gentleman German-flute performer 

in England : that he was also particularly famed for his 

1 



GENERAL REID CAPTAIN WALLACE. 



69 



taste in the composition of military music, and that his 
marches are still admired. This gentleman was a colo- 
nel at the time I speak of him. His fame as a per- 
former on the flute I recollect, as also to have heard him 
play ; but probably I was too little of a connoisseur to 
duly appreciate his talents. I cannot say that my ex- 
pectations were fully answered ; his tones were low and 
sweet, but the tunes he played were so disguised and 
overloaded with variations, as with me to lose much of 
their melody. 

From these gentlemen of the army, I pass to one of 
the navy, rude and boisterous as the element to which 
he belonged. His name I think was Wallace, the com- 
mander of a ship of war on the American station, and 
full fraught, perhaps, with the ill humour of the mother 
country towards her colonies, which she was already be- 
ginning to goad to independence. His character upon 
the coast was that of being insolent and brutal beyond 
his peers ; and his deportment as a lodger was altoge- 
ther of a piece with it. Being asked by my mother, who, 
by the desire of the gentlemen, was in the custom of 
taking the head of her table, if he would be helped to a 
dish that was near her, " Damme, madam," replied the 
ruffian, " it is to be supposed that at a public table every 
man has a right to help himself, and this I mean to do." 
With a tear in her eye, she besought him to pardon her, 
assuring him, that, in future, he should not be offended 
by her officiousness. 

At another time, when Joseph Church of Bristol, 
who has already been mentioned as a friend of the fa- 
mily, was in town and at our house, which, in his visits 
to the city, he always made his home, my mother men- 
tioned to the gentlemen, who were about sitting down 



70 



CAPTAIN WALLACE — ANECDOTE OF A QUAKER. 



to supper, but three or four in number, of whom Captain 
Wallace was one, that there was a friend of hers in the 
house, a very honest, plain man, of the society of Friends, 
and begged to know if it would be agreeable to them 
that he should be brought into supper. They all readily 
assented, and none with more alacrity than Wallace. 
Accordingly Mr Church was introduced, and sat down. 
During supper, the captain directed his chief discourse to 
him, interlarded with a deal of very coarse and insolent 
raillery on his broad brim, &c. Church bore it all very 
patiently until after supper, when he at length ventured 
to say — " Captain, thou hast made very free with me, 
and asked me a great many questions, which I have en- 
deavoured to answer to thy satisfaction : Wilt thou now 
permit me to ask thee one in my turn ?" — " Oh by all 
means," exclaimed the captain, " any thing that you 
please, friend — what is it?" — " Why then, I wish to be 
informed, what makes thee drink so often ; art thou 
really dry every time thou earnest the liquor to thy 
mouth ? " This was a home thrust at the seaman, whose 
frequent potations had already produced a degree of in- 
toxication. At once, forgetting the liberties he had ta- 
ken, and the promise he had given of equal freedom in 
return, he broke out into a violent rage, venting himself 
in the most indecent and illiberal language, and vocifer- 
ating, with an unlucky logic which recoiled upon himself 
— " What ! do you think I am like a hog, only to drink 
when I am dry ?" But matters had gone too far for a 
reply, and the object of his wrath very prudently left 
the table and the room as expeditiously as possible. It 
cannot be denied, that there was some provocation in 
the question proposed ; but he knows little of the Qua- 
ker character, who does not know, that the non-resisting 
12 



RIVINGTON THE PRINTER. 



71 



tenet does not prohibit the use of dry sarcasm, which 
here was unquestionably in its place. 

It would be easy to extend these biographical details ; 
but my materials, at best, are too deficient in interest to 
warrant much presumption on the patience of the reader : 
I shall therefore only add to the list the names of Han- 
cock and Washington, each of whom had at different 
times sojourned at our caravansary. 

Yet another, of some eminence, though not exactly in 
the same kind, whom I ought not to omit, was Riving- 
ton the printer, of New York. This gentleman's man- 
ners and appearance were sufficiently dignified, and he 
kept the best company. He was an everlasting dabbler 
in theatrical heroics. Othello was the character in 
which he liked best to appear ; and converting his audi- 
tory into the " Most potent, grave, and reverend signi- 
ors" of Venice, he would deliver his unvarnished tale : 

" Her father lov'd me, oft invited me" &c. 

With the same magic by which the listening gentlemen 
were turned into senators, my mother was transformed 
into Desdemona ; and from the frequent spoutings of 
Rivington, the officers of the 42d regiment, and others, 
who were then in the house, became familiarized to the 
appellation, and appropriated it. Thus, Desdemona, or 
rather Desdy, for shortness, was the name she generally 
afterwards went by among that set of lodgers ; and I re- 
collect the concluding line of a poetical effusion of 
Lieutenant Rumsey of the 42d, on occasion of some trif- 
ling fracas, to have been — 

For Desdy, believe me, you don't become airs ! 

In the daily intercourse with her boarders which my 



72 



RIVIXOTON THE PRINTER. 



mother's custom of sitting at the head of her table 
induced, such familiarities might be excused. They 
were only to be repelled, at least, by a formal austerity 
of manner, which was neither natural to her, nor for her 
interest to assume. The cause of umbrage was a mid- 
night riot, perpetrated by Rumsey, Rivington, and Dr 
Kearsley, in which the Doctor, mounted on horseback, 
rode into the back parlour, and even up stairs, to the 
great disturbance and terror of the family ; for, as it 
may well be supposed, there was a direful clatter. 
Quadrupedante sonitu quatit ungula domum. 



DEATH OF THE AUTHOR^ GRANDFATHER. 



73 



CHAPTER III. 

The Author mixes in new Society — Is destined for the Law 
— Philadelphian Theatricals— Anecdote — Debating Society 
— Causes of Youthful Follies— Junius' 's Letters. 

About the year 1769 or 1770, my grandfather died. 
My inattention to dates disqualifies me for fixing the 
year, nor is it material. His disorder was a complica- 
tion of dropsy and asthma. I well remember being with 
him a few evenings before his death, and seldom saw 
him in better spirits. He was anticipating my future 
consequence in life ; and, as like too many others, I was 
destined in vain, 

D'une robe a longs plis balayer le barreau — 
To sweep, with full sleev'd robe, the dusty bar.* 

He was making himself merry with the fancy of my 
strutting with my full-bottomed periwig and small-sword, 
the costume he attached to a bannister of law, as he was 
pleased to term what in England is called a barrister. 
But it will be recollected, that I have already said the 
old gentleman was a German, no great adept in English, 
and let me add, no great scholar in any language ; al- 
though his manners were those of a man of the world, 



* This quotation would apply better, or at least more literally, 
if gowns had been worn at our bar. 



DANGERS OF IDLENESS. 



and a frequenter of good company, somewhat blunt, 
however, and occasionally facetious. The story of the 
toper and flies, worked up into an ode by Peter Pindar, 
I have more than once heard related of him. The 
scene was laid in Philadelphia, where, being at a friend's 
house to dine, and asked to take some punch before din- 
ner, he found several flies in the bowl. He removed 
them with a spoon, took his drink, and with great de- 
liberation was proceeding to replace them. "Why, 
what are you doing, Mr Marks," 1 exclaimed the enter- 
tainer, " putting flies into the bowl ?" — " Why, / don't 
like them," said he, "but I did not know but you 
might," — his mode of suggesting that the bowl should 
have been covered : for decanters and tumblers, be it 
observed, are a modern refinement in the apparatus of 
punch-drinking. Whether the story really originated 
with my grandfather, and travelled from the continent 
to the islands, where Dr Wolcott picked it up ; or whe- 
ther the humour was of insular origin, and merely bor- 
rowed and vamped up by my grandfather, I pretend not 
to decide ; but certain it is, that he had the credit of it 
in Philadelphia, many years before the works of Peter 
Pindar appeared. 

If want of occupation, as we are told, is the root of 
all evil, my youth was exposed to very great dangers. 
The interval between my leaving the academy, and be- 
ing put to the study of the law at about the age of six- 
teen, was not less than eighteen months ; an invaluable 
period, lost in idleness and unprofitable amusement. It 
had the effect to estrange me for a time from my school- 
companions, and, in their stead, to bring me acquainted 



Joseph Marks ; the name might have been mentioned before. 



FEMALE SOCIETY— LOVE. 



75 



with a set of young men, whose education and habits had 
been wholly different from my own. They were chiefly 
designed for the sea, or engaged in the less humiliating 
mechanical employments ; and were but the more to my 
taste for affecting a sort of rough independence of man- 
ners, which appeared to me manly. They were not, 
however, worthless ; and such of them as were destined 
to become men and citizens have, with few exceptions, 
filled their parts in society with reputation and respecta- 
bility. As I had now attained that stage in the progress 
of the mind, in which 

Neglected Tray and Pointer lie, 
And covies unmolested fly, 

the void was supplied by an introduction into the fair so- 
ciety, with which these young men were in the habit of 
associating. It consisted generally of Quakers ; and 
there was a witching one among them, with whom, at a 
first interview in a party on the water, I became so vio- 
lently enamoured, as to have been up, perhaps, to the 
part of a Romeo or a Pyramus, had the requisite train 
of untoward circumstances ensued. But as there were 
no feuds between our houses, nor unnatural parents to 
" forbid what they could not prohibit," the matter in due 
time passed off without any dolorous catastrophe. Nor 
was it long before I was translated into a new set of fe- 
male acquaintance, in which I found new objects to sigh 
for. Such, indeed, 1 was seldom, if ever, without, dur- 
ing the rest of my nonage ; and with as little reason, 
perhaps, as any one, to complain of adverse stars. Ne- 
vertheless, I should hesitate in pronouncing this season 
of life happy. If its enjoyments are great, so are its so- 
licitudes j and although it should escape the pangs of 



76 



YOUTHFUL DISSIPATION. 



" slighted vows and cold disdain,'* it yet is racked by a 
host of inquietudes, doubt, distrust, jealousy, hope defer- 
red by the frustration of promised interviews, and wish- 
es sickening under the weight of obstacles too mighty to 
be surmounted. In the language of the medical poet, 

The wholesome appetites and powers of life 
Dissolve in languor. Your cheerful days are gone ; 
The generous bloom that flush'd your cheeks is fled. 
To sighs devoted and to tender pains, 
Pensive you sit, or solitary stray, 
And waste your youth in musing. 

But the peril of fine eyes was not the only one which 
beset me. During my residence in the Slate- house, I 
had contracted an intimacy with the second son of Dr 
Thomas Bond, who lived next door ; a connection 
which continued for several years. He was perhaps a 
year older than myself, and had, in like manner, aban- 
doned his studies, and prematurely bidden adieu to the 
College of Princeton. Handsome in his person, in his 
manner confident and assured, he had the most lordly 
contempt for the opinion of the world, that is the sober 
world, of any young man I have known ; as well as a 
precocity in fashionable vices, equalled by few, and cer- 
tainly exceeded by none. Admiring his talents and ac- 
complishments, I willingly yielded him the lead in our 
amusements, happy in emulating his degagSe air and 
rakish appearance. He it was who first introduced me 
to the fascination of a billiard-table, and initiated me 
into the other seductive arcana of city dissipation* He 
also showed me where beardless youth might find a 
Lethe for its timidity, in the form of an execrable potion 
called wine, on the very moderate terms of two and six- 
pence a quart. At an obscure inn in Race Street, drop- 
ping in about dark, we were led by a steep and narrow 



CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 



77 



stair-case to a chamber in the third story, so lumbered 
with beds as scarcely to leave room for a table and one 
chair, the beds superseding the necessity of more. 
Here we poured down the fiery beverage ; and valiant 
in the novel feeling of intoxication, sallied forth in quest 
of adventures. Under the auspices of such a leader, I 
could not fail to improve ; nor was his progress less pro- 
moted by so able a second. In a word, we aspired to 
be rakes, and were gratified. Mr Richard Bond was 
the favourite of his father, studied physic under him, 
and, notwithstanding his addiction to pleasure, would 
probably have made a respectable figure in his profes- 
sion : for he had genius, no fondness for liquor, no un- 
usual want of application to business, and vanity, per- 
haps, more than real propensity, had prompted his juve- 
nile excesses. But he was destined to finish his career 
at an early age, by that fatal disease to youth, a pul- 
monary consumption. He had a presentiment of this, 
and frequently said when in health, it would be his mor- 
tal distemper. Yet his frame seemed not to indicate it : 
he had a prominent chest, with a habit inclined to fulness. 
Our intimacy had ceased for some time before his death : 
I know not why, unless he had been alienated by a la- 
tent spark of jealousy, in relation to a young lady, for 
whom we both had a partiality ; mine, indeed, slight 
and evanescent ; his deep and more lasting, and which, 
I have understood, only ended with his life. 

As it was necessary I should be employed, the choice 
of a vocation for me had for some time engaged the at- 
tention of my near connections. The question was, 
whether I should be a merchant, a physician, or a law- 
yer. My inclinations were duly consulted. I had no 
predilection for either, though I liked the law the least of 



78 



CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 



the three, being sensible that my talents were not of the 
cast which would enable me to succeed in that profession. 
I searched my composition in vain for the materials 
that would be required. If they were there, the want 
of fortitude to bring them forth would be the same as if 
they were not ; and this seemed a deficiency I could 
never supply. To rise at the bar with due gravity and 
recollection ; to challenge the attention of the court, the 
jury, and the bystanders ; to confide in my ability to 
do justice to a good cause ; to colour a bad one by the 
requisite artifice and simulation ; and to undertake to 
entertain by my rhetoric, where I must necessarily fail 
to convince by my logic, I felt to be a task far beyond 
my strength ; and I shuddered at it, in idea only, even 
in my most sanguine, self-complacent moments. To 
what this infirmity, inaccurately termed diffidence, is 
owing, or whether it be a defect in the mental or bodily 
powers, is not, I believe, ascertained ; yet it exists to a 
degree scarcely superable in some, while, in others, it is 
a sensation almost unknown. It appears, however, to 
be considerably under the influence of education, since, 
if felt at all, it never shows itself in a thorough-bred 
Quaker : neither do we suppose it to exist in a French- 
man, though the phrase mauvaise honte is a proof that 
the imbecility has been recognised by the nation ; a cir- 
cumstance we might be led to doubt, too, from the ac- 
count given by Dr Moore of the National Assembly. 
He tells us, that, of the great number of members of 
which it was composed, there appeared to be none who 
could not express themselves with perfect freedom and 
ease ; and that there seemed to be a continual competi- 
tion for the possession of the tribune. How different, 
he observes, from an assembly of Englishmen! I 



DIFFIDENCE MAUVAISE HONTE. 



79 



might add, of Americans ! But that the feeling is natu- 
ral, if, indeed, there could be a doubt of it ; that it was 
known to the ancients, and that it is not merely an effect 
of modern manners, is evinced from the following lines 
of Petronius on Dreams, in which the trepidation is not 
only recognised, but very strongly depicted. 

Qui causas orare solent, legesque forumque 
Et pavido cernunt inclusum corde tribunal. 

I have said it is inaccurately termed diffidence ; it rather 
appears to me to proceed from too much pride and self- 
attention, a kind of morbid sensibility, ever making self 
the principal figure in the scene, and overweemngly so- 
licitous for the respect of the audience ; dreading, in 
equal degree, its contempt and the humiliation of a fail- 
ure. Hence, as one that is too fearful of falling will 
never excel in the hazardous exercises, such as riding 
and skating, so the destined public speaker, who will not 
risk a fall, can never expect to succeed. If he is too 
fastidious to submit to occasional humiliation, he must 
undergo the perpetual one of being really, as well as re- 
putedly, unqualified for his profession. Some diffidence 
or distrust of our powers does, no doubt, attend the 
species of mawvaise honte we are speaking of ; but it is 
more often, I believe, the distrust of being able to dis- 
play the talents we possess, or at least ascribe to our- 
selves, than an underrating of them ; and appears to 
have its primary cause, as already said, in a temperament 
of too much susceptibility to shame, — and if so, the 
French have given it a very proper appellation. 

But notwithstanding my conviction of an inaptitude 
for the bar, it was, however, the profession assigned me. 
I had declared for the study of physic, and overtures had 



80 



\ 

AUTHOR BEGINS THE STUDY OF LAW. 



accordingly been made to a practitioner of eminence, but 
he happening at the time to have as many students as he 
wanted, declined taking another. Failing here, it was 
deemed inexpedient any longer to defer placing me 
somewhere. I had certainly been already too long un- 
employed ; and my uncle, (the executor of my father's 
will, in conjunction with my mother,) who had all along 
been desirous that I should go to the bar, his own pro- 
fession, again recommended it ; and proposed taking me 
into his own family, where, by his assistance, the use of 
his library, which was a very ample one, and an oc- 
casional attention to the business of his office, that of 
Prothonotary of the Common Pleas, which he held as 
deputy of the late Governor Hamilton, then residing at 
Bushhill, I had the means of acquiring a knowledge of 
the law, both as to principle and practice ; and the pro- 
posal being, in many respects, eligible and agreeable, 
was embraced. I was sensible that it was no less to my 
advantage than reputation, that I should be doing some- 
thing : There was no one with whom, in the character 
of a master, I could expect to be more pleasantly situat- 
ed than with my uncle, who was a man of unbounded 
benevolence and liberality ; and my imagination went to 
castle-building in the remote prospect of a trip to Eng- 
land, for the purpose of completing my education at the 
Temple ; for, whatever may be the case now, this was the 
grand desideratum, or summum bonum, with the aspiring 
law-youth of my day. As to the sober part of the cal- 
culation, whether the occupation I was about to embrace 
was adapted to my talents, would command my applica- 
tion, and be likely to afford me the means of future sub- 
sistence, it was put aside for the more immediately 
grateful considerations already mentioned, I cannot 



HIS CHARACTERISTIC INDOLENCE. 



81 



venture to pronounce, however, that the medical profes- 
sion would have suited me much better. In truth, I was 
indolent to a great degree ; and with respect to that he- 
roic fortitude which subdues the mind to its purposes, 
withdraws it at will from the flowery paths of pleasure, 
and forces it into the thorny road of utility, the distin- 
guishing trait in the character of Caesar, and which jus- 
tifies the poet in designating him as " the world's great 
master, and his own" I have very little to boast of. I 
was ever too easily seduced by the charm of present 
gratification, and my general mood in youth was an en- 
tire apathy to gainful views. With the strongest incli- 
nation to be respectable in life, and even with ambition 
to aspire to the first rank in my profession, I yet felt an 
invincible incapacity for mingling in the world of busi- 
ness, the only means by which my desire could be 
gratified. My imagination, almost ever in a state of 
listless, amorous delirium, 

Where honour still, 
And great design, against the oppressive load, 
By fits, impatient heaved, 

could rarely be brought down to the key of sober occu- 
pation, or attuned to the flat fasque nefasque of the 
sages of the law ; and my acquaintance with them was, 
of course, a very slight one. Were we justified in lay- 
ing our unthriftiness on nature, I might say, that she 
never intended me for a man of business. If she has 
denied me the qualifications of an advocate, she has not 
certainly been more liberal to me of those of a trafficker ; 
for whether it be owing to pride, to dulness, to laziness, 
or to impatience, I could never excel in driving a bar- 
gain : And as to that spirit of commercial enterprise 01 

F 



82 



AMERICAN PLAYERS MR LEWIS. 



speculation, which only asks the use of money to increase 
it, I never possessed a spark of it ; and, consequently, 
though I have sometimes had cash to spare, it rarely, if 
ever, was employed ; for the very good reason, that com- 
modities in my hands always turned out to be drugs. In 
thus characterising myself, I affect not singularity : For 
the discomfort of my declining age, I but depict myself 
too truly. 

A short time before the epoch of my becoming a stu- 
dent of law, the city was visited by the company of play- 
ers, since styling themselves, The Old American Com- 
pany. They had for several years been exhibiting in 
the islands, and now returned to the continent in the 
view of dividing their time and labours between Phila- 
delphia and New York. At Boston, 

they did not appear, 
So peevish was the edict of the May'r, 

or, at least, of those authorities which were charged with 
the custody of the public morals. The manager was 
Douglas, rather a decent than shining actor, — a man of 
sense and discretion, married to the Widow Hallam, 
whose son Lewis, then in full culmination, was the Ro- 
scius of the theatre. As the dramatic heroes were all his 
without a competitor, so the heroines were the exclusive 
property of Miss Cheer, who was deemed an admirable 
performer. The singing department was supplied and 
supported by the voices of Wools and Miss Wainwright, 
said to have been pupils of Dr Arne ; while, in the tre- 
mulous drawl of the old man, in low jest and buffoone- 
ry, Morris, thence the minion of the gallery, stood first 
and unrivalled. As for the Tomlinsons, the Walls, the 
Aliens, &c. they were your Bonifaces, your Jessamys, 



AMERICAN PLAYERS MR HALLAM. 



83 



your Mock Doctors, and what not. On the female side, 
Mrs Douglas was a respectable matron-like dame, state- 
ly or querulous as occasion required, — a very good Ger- 
trude, — a truly appropriate Lady Randolph, with her 
white handkerchief and her weeds ; but then, to applaud, 
it was absolutely necessary to forget, that, to touch the 
heart of the spectator, had any relation to her function. 
Mrs Harman bore away the palm as a duenna, and Miss 
Wainwright as a chambermaid. Although these were 
among the principal performers at first, the company 
was from time to time essentially improved by additions. 
Among these, the Miss Storers, Miss Hallam, and Mi- 
Henry, were valuable acquisitions ; as was also a Mr 
Goodman, who had read law in Philadelphia with Mr 
Ross. This topic may be disgusting to persons of gra- 
vity ; but human manners are my theme, as well in youth 
as in age. Each period has its play-things ; and if the 
strollers of Thespis have not been thought beneath 
the dignity of Grecian history, this notice of the old 
American stagers may be granted to the levity of me- 
moirs. 

Whether there may be any room for comparison be- 
tween these, the old American company, and the per- 
formers of the present day, I venture not to say. No- 
thing is more subject to fashion than the style of public 
exhibitions ; and as the excellence of the Lacedemonian 
black broth essentially depended, we are told, on the ap- 
petite of the feeder, so, no doubt, does the merit of 
theatrical entertainments. I cannot but say, however, 
that, in my opinion, the old company acquitted them- 
selves with most animation and glee ; they were a pass- 
able set of comedians. Hallam had merit in a number 
of characters, and was always a pleasing performer. No 



84 



PLAYERS — THEATRICAL ANECDOTE. 



one could tread the stage with more ease. Upon it, in- 
deed, he might be said to have been cradled, and wheel- 
ed in his go-cart. In tragedy, it cannot be denied, that 
his declamation was either mouthing or ranting ; yet a 
thorough master of all the tricks and finesse of his trade, 
his manner was both graceful and impressive — " Tears 
in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, a broken voice, and 
his whole function suiting with forms to his conceit." — 
He once ventured to appear in Hamlet either at Drury 
Lane or Covent Garden, and was endured. In the ac- 
count given of his performance, he is said not to have 
been to the taste of a London audience, though he is ad- 
mitted to be a man of a pleasing and interesting address. 
He was, however, at Philadelphia, as much the soul of 
the Southwark theatre as ever Garrick was of Drury 
Lane ; and if, as Dr Johnson allows, popularity in mat- 
ters of taste is unquestionable evidence of merit, we can- 
not withhold a considerable portion of it from Mr Hal- 
lam, notwithstanding his faults. 

The subject of this old company opens the door to a 
trifling anecdote of a very early origin. Over their stage, 
in imitation of the sons of Drury, they had fixed the 
motto of Totus mundus agit histrionem — The whole 
world act the player; Some young ladies one evening, 
among whom was one of my aunts, applied to the gentle- 
man who attended them for the meaning of the words. 
Willing to pass himself off for a scholar, and taking for 
his clew, probably, the word mundus, he boldly inter- 
preted them into — " We act Mondays, Wednesdays, 
and Fridays," — and the ladies were satisfied. But, to 
the lasting disquiet of the unlucky beau, they were not 
long after undeceived by some of their more learned ac- 
quaintance. 



DRAMATIC POETRY. 



85 



Although the theatre must be admitted to be a stimu- 
lus to those vices, which something inherent in our na- 
ture renders essential to the favoured hero of the comic 
drama and the novel, it was yet useful to me in one re- 
spect. It induced me to open books which had hitherto 
lain neglected on the shelf. A little Latin, and but a 
little, was the chief fruit of my education. I was toler- 
ably instructed in the rudiments of grammar, but in no- 
thing else. I wrote a very indifferent hand, and spelled 
still worse than I wrote. I knew little or nothing of 
arithmetic ; that, as a branch of the mathematics, being 
taught in the academy after the languages. But now I 
became a reader of plays, and particularly of those of 
Shakespeare, of which I was an ardent and unaffected 
admirer. From these I passed to those of Otway and 
Howe, and the other writers of tragedy, and thence to 
the English poets of every description. Poetry, indeed, 
has continued to be my favourite reading ; and, when I 
feel disposed to read aloud, it is always my choice. From 
being wholly unapprised of the structure of the senten- 
ces, and the place of the pauses in prose, the reading of 
it requires much greater attention to the management of 
the breath ; and is therefore to me much the most diffi- 
cult and laborious. Nor has my bias for metrical com- 
positions been confined to the English authors. A small 
knowledge of French has enabled me to make acquaint- 
ance with the Henriade of Voltaire, the poems of Boi- 
leau, and those of some other writers ; and that it has 
not been more general, has principally been owing to 
want of books. Nevertheless, I cannot but subscribe to 
the decree of the English critics, that the French is not 
the language of the Muses, at least in their sublimer 
moods. What, for instance, can be more completely un- 



86 



author's pursuits. 



harmonious and halting than these lines in the Henriade, 
which appear to have been considerably laboured to the 
end of producing a grand effect ? 

On entendoit gronder ces bombes effroyables, 
De troubles de la Flandre enfants abominables, 
Le salpetre enfonce dans ces globes d'arain, 
Part, s'echauffe, s'embrase., et s'eearte soudain : 

" Cannons and kettle-drums — sweet numbers these/' — 
The term saltpetre, though, no doubt, susceptible of ele- 
gance in French poetry, since it is used by one of its 
greatest masters, would, in ours, set all collocation at de- 
fiance ; and could appear in no other metre than dogger- 
el. Observations, however, of this kind should not be 
dogmatically urged, since, how far our taste for melody 
may be natural or artificial is not easy to ascertain. But 
certainly the music of French numbers is extremely flat 
and monotonous to an English ear, though, to a French 
one, our best-sounding measure may be sing-song no less 
vapid. 

In the Latin classics, too, I have been a dipper ; and 
the best of my progress in that language is to be ascribed 
to my fondness for its poetry. Why was I not, when at 
school, imbued with the same relish ? I might then have 
been a scholar, and the whole body of Roman poetry, 
the Corpus omnium veterum Poetarum Latinorum, (a 
huge unwieldy tome, which had belonged to my father,) 
in a chronological series from Andronicus and Ennius to 
Maurus Terentianus, might have been at my finger-ends; 
whereas, now, only scraps of it are occasionally elicited 
with difficulty, either when disposed to learn upon what 
subjects it was that Lucretius, Catullus, Tibullus, Pro- 
pertius, Lucanus, Statius, &c. &c. had respectively em- 
ployed their pens ; or when I would follow Mr Gibbon, 



DEBATING SOCIETY. 



87 



in his references to the poets of later times, the Calphur- 
nius's, the Nemesianus's, the Claudianus's, the Pruden- 
tius's, and Sidonius's. Still, according to my manner, 
this was but a species of amusement, the dulce, without 
a particle of the utile, to me who had no manner of con- 
cern with the decline of the Roman empire, or the song- 
sters which belonged to it. It was not, however, Latin, 
but English poetry, which first led me astray. I did not, 
it is true, pen stanzas, but I often read them when I 
should have engrossed ; I had, as Junius says of Sir 
William Draper, " The melancholy madness of poetry, 
without the inspiration. " 

The only project I embraced, which promised advan- 
tage to me in my profession, or indicated a serious design 
to pursue it, was my joining a society of young men, in- 
stituted for the purpose of disputing on given subjects, as 
well as of reciting passages from the English classics. It 
chiefly consisted of law students, though there were some 
among us who were designed for the pulpit ; and the 
members were generally such as had obtained degrees 
in the seminaries either of Princeton or Philadelphia. 
The first question in which I was appointed to take a part 
was that very hackneyed one, " Whether a public or a 
private education is to be preferred." There were two 
on each side ; and our reasonings were reduced to 
writing, and read in full assembly, where the president 
pro tempore made his decision. I soon discovered that 
the arguments I had to reply to, though proceeding 
from one of high reputation for scholarship, had been 
borrowed almost word for word from Rollin's Belles- 
lettres. Restrained by delicacy from exposing the pla- 
giarism, I answered them as well as I could from my 
own resources, and had some allowances made me, 



88 



DEBATING SOCIETY. 



since it had become pretty well known that Rollin 
was my real antagonist. In fact, my opponent would 
hardly have ventured to put himself so much in my 
power by stealing from so common a book, had he not 
calculated pretty largely on my unacquaintance with 
any books. It next fell to me to propound a question ; 
and having not long before met with one in a magazine 
which was suggested as a curious subject of investiga- 
tion, I submitted it to the assembly. It was, " Whe- 
ther there be most pleasure in the reception or commu- 
nication of knowledge." As proposer of the question 
I had the choice of my side, as well as the conclusion 
of the argument ; and I declared for the " communica- 
tion." As this was a subject on which school-books 
gave no light, the disputants had to draw solely from 
their own funds ; and in some there was a considerable 
falling off. To me the topic was as new as to any of 
them ; but my production had the good fortune to be 
approved, and to aid in obtaining the decision of the 
president. But I soon became weary of this scholastic 
employment. It appeared to me both puerile and pe- 
dantic ; and the formality of addressing the chair with 
the feigned gravity of a pleader, required a kind of gri- 
mace I felt myself awkward at. Indeed, the two ora- 
tions I had written, like that of Cicero for Milo, were 
not delivered by their author, who did not appear ; but 
they were read for me by my friend and fellow student 
Andrew Robeson. I once, however, with this same 
gentleman, risked my declaiming powers in a scene of 
Venice Preserved ; but in what character I appeared 
I do not remember. 

I also involved myself about this period in metaphysi- 
cal subtleties ; and with Mr James Hutchinson, the late 

8 



METAPHYSICAL SUBTLETIES. 



89 



Dr Hutchinson, who then lived with Bartram the apo- 
thecary, and with whom I had become intimate, I fre- 
quently reasoned upon fate, " fixed fate, free-will, fore- 
knowledge absolute," &c. Our acquaintance found ce- 
ment in the circumstances of our both being Bucks 
county men, and exactly of an age. The Doctor's father, 
Randal Hutchinson, a Quaker, did the masonwork of 
my father's house at Fairview ; and, agreeably to the 
custom in the country, resided with him while employed 
in it. From family tradition, for I do not remember 
old Randal, he was what might be called a queer 
put. Being once called upon for his song, on occa- 
sion of a little merriment, he declined it with the dry 
remark, that he could do his own singing : and so 
indeed it appeared, as he was in the habit, every even- 
ing after work, of singing out in rustic drone to his 
hands assembled round him, a celebrated political poem 
of that time, entitled The Washing of the Blackmoor 
White. It was levelled, if I do not mistake, at the aris- 
tocracy of the day ; and if so, the Doctor had a sort of 
hereditary right to that zeal against the well born of 
his own, which has rendered his name a favourite signa- 
ture with democratic essayists. But for all this, he was 
a friendly man, and no foe to good company ; and as to 
political propensities, they seem, in some men, to be in- 
herent instincts, wholly independent of the reasoning 
faculty, and no more to be resisted than a constitution- 
al tendency to be fat or lean : a sort of restless spirits 
these, prone to act, to confederate, and intrigue ; and 
who, though not absolutely bad at heart, have yet a la- 
mentable itch for mischief. If there are such men, my 
quondam friend was one of them. 

The old and the austere may declaim as they will 



90 



MORALITY OF FICTITIOUS HEROES. 



against the follies and vices of youth, the natural propen- 
sities will still prevail ; and for one student of law that is 
restrained by the solid eloquence of Professor Blackstone 
from " whiling away the awkward interval from child- 
hood to twenty-one," two or three perhaps are led as- 
tray by the seducing rake of Dr Hoadley. Ranger, re- 
turning to the temple in a disordered dress, after a night 
of riot and debauchery, has, unfortunately, more allure- 
ments for a young man of metal, and still more unfortu- 
nately for the generality of young ladies, to whom it is 
his first desire to be agreeable, than the sober, orderly 
student, pale with the incipient lucubrations of twenty 
years. I will mot undertake to say, that authors are 
right in exhibiting such characters as a Dorimant, a 
Jones, a Pickle, a Ranger, or a Charles Surface, but in 
so doing they draw from nature, and address themselves 
to the taste of their readers. Has ever novel or comedy 
been popular, whose hero is a man of strict morality and 
virtue ? The Grandison of Richardson, the Bevil of Steel, 
and Henry of Cumberland, are but insipid characters in 
the eyes of those who are customers for the productions 
of the novelist and dramatist. Happy, indeed, are they, 
who, without being lost to the feelings of youth, can yet 
indulge them with discretion and moderation ; and who 
do not forget, that, although the fashionable gaieties may 
for a time recommend them to the thoughtless of both 
sexes, it is application to business that must provide the 
means of ease, contentment, and respectability in life. 
Such was not my case. I wanted strength of mind for 
the judgment of Hercules, and was for seizing the pre- 
sent moment with Horace. I might not live to be old, 
and if I did, what were its dull satisfactions in compari- 
son of the vivid, enthusiastic enjoyments of youth ? In this 



DISSIPATION TAVERN PLEASURES. 



91 



temper I plunged deep into dissipation, with the excep- 
tion of gaming, having never found much attraction in 
the fortuitous evolutions of a shuffled pack of cards, or a 
shaken dice-box. But the pleasures of the table, the in- 
dependence of tavern revelry, and its high-minded con- 
tempt of the plodding and industrious, were irresistibly- 
fascinating to me. Though without the slightest addic- 
tion to liquor, nothing was more delightful to me than 
to find myself a member of a large bottle association set 
in for serious drinking ; the table officers appointed, the 
demi-johns filled, the bottles arranged, with the other ne- 
cessary dispositions for such engagements ; and I put no 
inconsiderable value upon myself for my supposed " po- 
tency in potting," or, in modern phrase, my being able 
to carry off a respectable quantity of wine. Although a 
grievous headach was the usual penalty of my debauch, 
the admonition vanished with the indisposition, while a 
play, or some other frivolous reading, beguiled the hours 
of penance. I blush to think of the many excesses I was 
guilty of while involved in this vortex of intemperance. 
Wine rarely deprived me of my feet, but it sometimes in- 
flamed me to madness ; and, in the true spirit of chivalry, 
the more extravagant an enterprise, the greater was the 
temptation to achieve it. Every occupation requires its 
peculiar talents, and where mischief is the object, the 
spirit of noble daring is certainly an accomplishment. 
Hence my energy on these occasions was duly appreciat- 
ed by my companions. As to those convivial qualifica- 
tions, which are wont to set the table in a roar, I had 
never any pretensions to them, though few enjoyed them 
with more relish. But these talents are often fatal to the 
possessor, and they hastened, if they did not induce, the 
catastrophe of poor Kinnersley, a son of the already men- 



92 



DISSIPATION — FICTITIOUS HISTORY. 



tioned teacher at the academy. As he was several years 
older than myself, he belonged to an elder class in the 
school of riot ; yet I have sometimes fallen in with him. 
He had not, indeed, the gibes and flashes of merriment 
which are attributed to the jester of Howrendillus's 
court ; but of all men I have seen, he had the happiest 
knack of being gross without being disgusting, and, con- 
sequently, of entertaining a company sunk below the point 
of Attic refinement. Modest by nature, and unobtrusive, 
probably from a conviction that he thereby gave zest to 
his talent, he always suffered himself to be called upon 
for his song, which he then generally accompanied with 
his violin, to the exquisite delight of his hearers. He pos- 
sessed humour without grimace or buffoonery ; and in the 
character of the drunken man, which he put on in some 
of his songs, and which may be endured as an imitation, 
he was pronounced by Hallam to be unequalled. But, 
unfortunately, the character became at length too much 
a real one ; and it is to be lamented, that one whose ex- 
terior indicated a most ingenuous disposition, should pre- 
maturely close his career by habitual intemperance. 

The study of the law, as may be supposed, went on 
heavily during this round of dissipation. I occasionally 
looked into Blackstone, but carefully kept aloof from the 
courts, where my attendance, as a future candidate for 
the bar, was not to be dispensed with. Light reading 
was the day's amusement ; and, as already said, it chief- 
ly consisted of poetry and plays. The novels of Field- 
ing and Smollet I had read ; but as for those of Ri- 
chardson, I had some how taken up the idea, that they 
were formal stuff, consisting chiefly of the dull ceremo- 
nials relating to courtship and marriage, with which su- 
perannuated aunts and grandmothers torment the young 



RICHARDSON CLARISSA HARLOWE. 93 

ynisses subjected to their control. But, taking up one 
evening the last volume of Clarissa, I accidentally open- 
ed it at a letter relating to the duel between Lovelace 
and Morden. This arrested my attention, and 1 soon 
found that the concerns of men, not less than those of 
the other sex, were both understood and spiritedly re- 
presented by the author. I immediately procured the 
work, and read it with more interest than any tale had 
ever excited in me before. The cruel, unmerited mis- 
fortunes of Clarissa often steeped me in tears ; yet the 
unrelenting villany of her betrayer was so relieved by 
great qualities, so entirely was he the gentleman when 
he chose to put it on, that the feeling of detestation was 
intermingled with admiration and respect ; and had 
figure, rank, fortune, borne me out in the resemblance, 
his, of all the characters I had met with, would, in the 
vanity of my heart, have most prompted me to an imita- 
tion, though abhorring as much as any one his vile plot- 
ting and obduracy. Like the young man mentioned in 
the Letters of Lord Chesterfield, I almost aspired to 
the catastrophe, as well as the accomplishments of this 
libertine destroyed. Nor was I singular in this ambi- 
tion : Lovelace has formed libertines, as Macheath has 
formed highwaymen. A young American, when at the 
temple, between forty and fifty years ago, played the 
part of the former with too fatal success, of which, I 
have been told, he preserved, and sometimes showed the 
story, written by himself: and that this character was 
the model which the young Lord Lyttleton prescribed 
to himself, appears to me evident from the cast of some 
of his letters. Rowe's Lothario, which Dr Johnson 
tells us is the outline of Lovelace, is ever more favoured 
by an audience than the virtuous and injured Altamont, 



94 



MORAL EFFECTS OF NOVELS. 



whom even the circumspect Mr Cumberland brands 
with the epithet of wittoL And is there a young and 
giddy female heart, that does not beat in unison with 
Calista's when she exclaims — 

I swear I could not see the dear betrayer 
Kneel at my feet, and sigh to be forgiven, 
But my relenting heart would pardon all, 
And quite forget 'twas he that had undone me ? 

Richardson, it is true, could not have made his story 
either natural or interesting without ascribing great qua- 
lities to Lovelace. So refined and all accomplished a 
woman as Clarissa was not to be taken with an ordinary 
man j yet what shall we say of the instruction intended 
to be conveyed by the exhibition of such a character ! 
Villain as he is, I very much fear, that, to the youth of 
both sexes, he is, upon the whole, more admired than 
detested, The probability therefore is, that, after all 
our attempts at advice and reformation, the world will 
proceed according to its original impulse, and that each 
season of life will retain the propensities adapted to its 
destination. 

He who presumes to face the world in the character 
of his own biographer, ought to be armed with resolu- 
tion for the encounter of great difficulties. To expose 
his follies, though but his very early ones, is far from a 
pleasant task ; and yet it is, in some degree, imposed 
upon him by the obligation he is under to represent 
himself truly. To do it lightly, as I have done, may 
argue, with some, too much indulgence for vice ; and to 
treat the matter as a subject for deep humiliation and 
contrition, would be to assume an austerity, I must con- 
fess I do not harbour. Still I can say, with truth, that 

10 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



95 



the delineation is painful, and that I feel it to require 
an apology on the score of decorum. 

It was about this time that the Letters of Junius ap- 
peared, and from the English Gazettes found their way 
into ours. The celebrity of these philippics excited ge- 
neral attention, and, of course, mine ; but the mere 
fashion of admiring them would never have prevailed 
over my indifference to their subject-matter to induce 
me to read them, had they not possessed a charm un- 
usual in such performances. I sought them with avidi- 
ty, and read them with delight. Some diversity of 
opinion still exists with respect to their style. Cumber- 
land gives us to understand, that he sees little to admire 
in them ; Johnson, however, seems to have thought dif- 
ferently ; and their continued popularity must be consi- 
dered as something more than equivocal evidence of 
their merit. Mr Heron conceives their author, who- 
ever he was, to have formed his style, in a great mea- 
sure, on Chillingworth, Swift, Bolingbroke, and Sheb- 
beare. I am unacquainted with the writings of Chil- 
lingworth, nor do I discern in Junius any great likeness 
to Swift ; but there is certainly a striking resemblance 
in his manner to The Dedication to a Noble Lord, 
prefixed to the remarks on the History of England by 
Bolingbroke, and also to Angel oni's Letters by Dr Sheb- 
beare, which, when I read them many years ago, appear- 
ed to me to be written with uncommon spirit, elegance, 
and force. But if Junius formed his style upon these 
distinguished writers, he sometimes drew his observa- 
tions from those who are nearly obsolete. In his fif- 
teenth letter, which is addressed to the Duke of Graf- 
ton, there is an allusion to a sentiment in Bacon's Ad- 
vancement of Learning, of which Mr Heron does not 



96 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



seem to have been aware. " Yet, for the benefit of the 
succeeding age," says Junius, in his concluding sen- 
tence, " I could wish that your retreat might be defer- 
red until your morals shall happily be ripened to that 
maturity of corruption at which the worst examples 
cease to be contagious." Bacon has it, that " men 
o'erspread with vice, do not so much corrupt public 
manners, as those that are half evil, and in part only." 
Putredo serpens majis contagiosa est quam matura. 
I think, in some of the early editions of this letter, the 
words " as philosophers tell us," were inserted between 
the words " which" and " the," reading thus — " at 
which, as philosophers tell us, the worst examples cease 
to be contagious." 

Were it warrantable to infer an imitation from a si- 
militude in a single point, Mr Heron might go back to 
the Latin classics, and add the names of Horace, Juve- 
nal, and Petronius, to those of the English writers, 
whom Junius is supposed to have studied and to have 
had in his eye. That abrupt and indignant use of the 
imperative mood, so frequent in him, is also to be met 
with in each of these Latin authors. " Content your- 
self, my lord, with the many advantages," &c. — "Avail 
yourself of all the unforgiving piety," &c. — " Return, 
my lord, before it be too late," &c. — " Take back your 
mistress." — " Indulge the people. Attend Newmar- 
ket," &c. — " Now let him go back to his cloister," &c. 
Thus Horace — I nunc, argentum et marmor vetus, fyc. 
— / nunc et versus tecum meditare canoros : and Ju- 
venal, speaking of Hannibal, I demens, et scevos curre 
per Alpes ; — and in the eloquent reflections over the 
body of Lycas in Petronius, the speaker exclaims, " Ite 
nunc mor tales, et magnis cogitationibus pectora implete. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



97 



Ite cauti, et opes fraudibus captas per mille annos, dis- 
ponite" But whether Junius had models or not, he 
probably surpassed all who went before him in the graces 
of diction. He appears to have imparted an unknown 
music to English prose, and to have given it a fascina- 
tion, in no wise inferior to the language of Rousseau. 
The beginning of his sentences are no less harmonious 
than his cadences at their close ; nor, to my ear, can any 
lines in poetry, taking the preceding passage along with 
them, flow with more sweetness and ease than do the 
following, in one of the letters to the Duke of Grafton. 
" You had already taken your degrees with credit in 
those schools, in which the English nobility are formed 
to virtue," &c. as do also the four concluding periods of 
the letter containing the remarked sentiment from Lord 
Bacon. I am aware it may be thought, that too much 
stress is here laid on mere sound ; but if we analyze the 
sources from which our relish of good composition is de- 
rived, we shall be compelled to acknowledge the great 
importance of the ear in the discernment of literary ex- 
cellence. Cicero, as we are told by Lord Kaimes, I 
think, has even employed redundant words for the im- 
provement of his harmony ; and Rousseau informs us, 
that he has spent whole nights in constructing and 
rounding a period : Hence may be inferred the import- 
ance these great writers attached to this part of their 
art. 

As it was highly fashionable at this time to speak of 
Junius, he is descanted upon in the letters of Tamoc 
Caspipina, which came out in Philadelphia in the year 
1771» I n these, he is prettily denominated the knight 
of the polished armour, a fancy with which the writer 
seems not a little pleased, since he has taken care that the 

4 G s 



98 



JUNIUS 1 S LETTERS— REV. MR DUCHE. 



idea shall not be lost for want of repeating. These let- 
ters proceeded from the pen of the Reverend Mr Duche, 
a very popular preacher of the Episcopal denomination. 
He had a fine voice and graceful delivery, but was never 
rated high in point of ability. His sermons were deem- 
ed flowery and flimsy, like the letters of Caspipina. 

Mr Duche was a Whig before, and I believe after, the 
declaration of independence ; but being in Philadelphia 
when the British army took possession of it, and think- 
ing, probably, that his country was in a fair way of being 
subdued, be changed sides, and wrote a very arrogant, 
ill-judged letter to General Washington, in which he ad- 
vises him to renounce a cause which had very much de- 
generated, and to " negotiate for America at the head 
of his army." Mr Duche was weak and vain, yet pro- 
bably not a bad man : His habits, at least, were pious ; 
and, with the exception of this political tergiversation, his 
conduct exemplary. His whimsical signature of Tamoc 
Caspipina is an acrostic on his designation, as The As- 
sistant Minister of Christ's Church and St Peter's, in 
Philadelphia, in North America. 



THE AUTHOR REMOVES TO YORKTOWN. 



99 



CHAPTER IV, 

The Author removes to Yorktown — Boar ding-House, and 
Character of the Inmates — General Society — Returns to 
Philadelphia, and pursues Ms Legal Studies — Fencing — 
Anecdote of a Madman — Causes of the War with Britain — 
State of Parties — Preparation for War. 

My irregular course of life had much impaired my 
health, for the re-establishment of which, and to enable 
me to pursue my studies without interruption from my 
free-living companions, my uncle advised my spending 
the approaching summer in Yorktown. Mr Samuel 
Johnson, the prothonotary of that county, was his parti- 
cular friend, a respectable man who had been in the 
practice of the law, and had a very good library. Hav- 
ing been apprised of the project, he kindly offered me 
the use of his books, as well as his countenance and as- 
sistance in my reading. Accordingly, I submitted to 
become an exile from Philadelphia, with nearly the same 
objects and feelings of Propertius, when he left Rome 
for Athens. 

Magnum iter ad doctas proficisci cogor Athenas — 
E-omanae turres, et vos valeatis amici 
Qualiscunque mihi, tuque puella vale. 

Not that York was an Athens ; but I was sent thither for 
improvement, and there were various attractions in the 
city, from which it was no doubt prudent to withdraw 
me. It was in the spring of 1773 that I was transfer- 
red to this pleasant and flourishing village, situated about 



100 



AUTHOR LEAVES PHILADELPHIA. 



twelve miles beyond the Susquehanna. It was this cir- 
cumstance which rendered it an eligible retreat for con- 
gress in the year 1778, when General Howe was in pos- 
session of the capital and eastern parts of Pennsylvania. 
I was well received by Mr Johnson, but with that for- 
mal theoretical kind of politeness, which distinguishes 
the manners of those who constitute the better sort in 
small secluded towns : And if, in these days, the pro- 
thonotary of a county of German population was not 
confessedly the most considerable personage in it, he 
must have been egregiously wanting to himself. This 
could with no propriety be imputed to my patron. Al- 
though apparently a mild and modest man, he evidently 
knew his consequence, and never lost sight of it, though, 
to say the truth, I received full as much of his attention 
as either 1 desired or had a right to expect : He repeat- 
ed the tender of his books and services, complimented 
me with a dinner, suggested that business and pleasure 
could not be well prosecuted together, and consigned me 
to my meditations. 

I established myself at a boarding-house, at whose 
table I found a practising attorney, a student of law, 
another of physic, and a young Episcopal clergyman, who 
had lately arrived from Dublin. The first was a strik- 
ing instance of what mere determination and persever- 
ance will do, even in a learned profession. He was an 
Irishman, a man of middle age — the extent of whose 
attainments was certainly nothing more than in a coarse, 
vulgar hand, to draw a declaration ; and in equally vul- 
gar arithmetic, to sum up the interest due upon a bond. 
His figure was as awkward as can well be imagined, and 
his elocution exactly corresponded with it. From the 
humble post of under-sheriff, he had lately emerged to 



YORKTOWN SOCIETY THERE. 



101 



his present station at the bar, and was already in good 
practice. By industry and economy, his acquisitions 
soon exceeded his expences ; and he died not long since 
in pretty affluent circumstances. Justice, however, re- 
quires it should be added, that his want of brilliant 
qualities was compensated by an adequate portion of com- 
mon sense, by unblemished integrity, and liberality in 
his dealings with the poor. Nor should it be forgotten, 
that, after having taken part with his adopted country in 
the struggle for her rights, he did not, like too many of 
his countrymen, by a blind obedience to vindictive pas- 
sions, much more than efface the merit of his services. — 
The law-student was from Wilmington ; an easy, good- 
natured, young man, whose talents appeared to be mis- 
placed in their present direction. They were, probably, 
better adapted to the army, into which he entered on 
the breaking out of the war, and was killed at the battle 
of Brandywine, holding the rank of a major in the Penn- 
sylvania line.— The student of physic, though with some 
rusticity to rub off, was yet a pretty good scholar ; nor 
was he deficient in natural endowments. To these he 
added a manly and honourable way of thinking, which 
made him respectable in the army, (which he also after- 
wards joined,) as well as in the path of civil life, in 
which he possesses an honourable station in the western 
country. 

The clergyman was only an occasional lodger ; his 
pastoral duties often calling him to Maryland and else- 
where, which produced absences of several weeks at a 
time. He had probably the propensities of that species 
of gownman, which I have heard Whitefield call a downy 
doctor; as, whatever might have been his deportment 
on solemn occasions, in his intercourse with me, he did 



10£ YORKTOWN A MARYLAND PARSON. 

not seem to be one who considered the enjoyment of the 
present sublunary scene by any means unworthy of re- 
gard. One clay, as I was strumming a tune from the 
Beggar's Opera, upon a fiddle I had purchased, with a 
view of becoming a performer upon it, he entered my 
apartment. What, says he, you play upon the violin, 
and are at the airs of the Beggar's Opera I He im- 
mediately began to hum the tune I had before me, from 
which, turning over the leaves of the note-book, he 
passed on to others, which he sung as he went along, 
and evinced an acquaintance with the piece, much 
too intimate to have been acquired, by any thing short 
of an assiduous attendance on the theatre. After 
amusing himself and me for some time with his thea- 
trical recollections, I am, said he, to give you a sermon 
next Sunday, and here it is, pulling from his pocket a 
manuscript. Perusing the title-page, he read, it was 
preached at such a time in such a place, and at another 
time in such a place, giving me to understand, from the 
dates, that it was not of his own composition, and that he 
made no difficulty of appropriating the productions of 

others. In a word, Mr L seemed in all respects to 

be what was then called, in Pennsylvania, a Maryland 
parson ; that is, one who could accommodate himself 
to his company, and pass " from grave to gay, from 
lively to severe," as occasion might require. Among his 
other accomplishments, he was no incompetent jockey ; 
at least, I have a right to infer so, from the result of an 
exchange of horses between us, a short time before my re- 
turn to the city. I do not, however, insinuate that he took 
me in, but merely that he had the best of the bargain. 

Besides my fellow-boarders there were several young 
men in the town, whose company served to relieve the 



YORKTOWN ODD CHARACTER. 



103 



dreariness of my solitude ; for such it was, compared with 
the scene from which I had removed. These, for the 
most part, are yet living, generally known and respect- 
ed. There was also in the place an oddity, who, though 
not to be classed with its young men, I sometimes fell in 
with. This was Mr James Smith, the lawyer, then in 
considerable practice. He was, probably, between forty 
and fifty years of age, fond of his bottle and young com- 
pany, and possessed of an original species of drollery. 
This, as may, perhaps, be said of all persons in his way, 
consisted more in the manner than the matter; for 
which reason it is scarcely possible to convey a just no- 
tion of it to the reader. In him it much depended on 
an uncouthness of gesture, a certain ludicrous cast of 
countenance, and a drawling mode of utterance, which, 
taken in conjunction with his eccentric ideas, produced 
an effect irresistibly comical ; though, on an analysis, it 
would be difficult to decide whether the man or the say- 
ing most constituted the jest. The most trivial incident 
from his mouth was stamped with his originality, and in 
relating one evening how he had been disturbed in his 
office by a cow, he gave inconceivable zest to his narra- 
tion, by his manner of telling how she thrust her nose 
into the door, and there roared like a Numidian lion. 
Like the picture of Garrick between Tragedy and Co- 
medy, his phiz exhibited a struggle between tragedy and 
farce ; in which the latter seemed on the eve of predo- 
minating. With a sufficiency of various reading to fur- 
nish him with materials for ridiculous allusions and in- 
congruous combinations, he was never so successful as 
when he could find a learned pedant to play upon ; and 
of all men, Judge Stedman, when mellow, was best cal- 
culated for his butt. The judge was a Scotchman, a man 



104* ANECDOTE OF JUDGE STEDMAN. 

of reading and erudition, though extremely magisterial 
and dogmatical in his cups. This it was which gave 
point to the humour of Smith, who, as if desirous of 
coming in for his share of the glory, while Stedman was 
in full display of his historical knowledge, never failed 
to set him raving by some monstrous anachronism, such, 
for instance, as " Don't you remember, Mr Stedman, 
that terrible bloody battle which Alexander the Great 
fought with the Russians, near the Straits of Babelman- 
del?" — " What, Sir !" said Stedman, repeating, with 
the most ineffable contempt, " which Alexander the 
Great fought with the Russians ! Where, mon, did you 
get your chronology ?" — " I think you will find it re- 
corded, Mr Stedman, in Thucydides or Herodotus/' — 
On another occasion, being asked for his authority for 
some enormous assertion, in which both space and time 
were fairly annihilated, with unshaken gravity, he re- 
plied, " 1 am pretty sure I have seen an account of it, 
Mr Stedman, in a High Dutch almanack, printed at 
AleepOy" his drawling way of pronouncing Aleppo. 
While every one at table was holding his sides at the 
expence of the Judge, he, on his part, had no doubt that 
Smith was the object of laughter, as he was of his own 
unutterable disdain. Thus every thing was as it should 
be, all parties were pleased ; the laughers were highly 
tickled, the self-complacency of the real dupe was flatter- 
ed, and the sarcastic vein of the pretended one gratifi- 
ed ; and this, without the smallest suspicion on the part 
of Stedman, who, residing in Philadelphia, was ignorant 
of Smith's character, and destitute of penetration to de- 
velope it. 

York, I must say, was somewhat obnoxious to the ge- 
neral charge of unsociableness, under which Pennsylva- 



YORKTOWN— FAMILY CIRCLE. 



105 



nia had always laboured ; or, if I wrong her, I was not 
the kind of guest that was calculated to profit of her hos- 
pitality. Perhaps I approached her under unfavourable 
auspices, those of a young man debauched by evil com- 
munications ; or, perhaps, there was a want of congeni- 
ality between her manners and mine. Be it as it may, 
there was but a single house in which I found that sort 
of reception which invited me to repeat my visit ; and 
this was the house of a Jew. In this I could conceive 
myself at home, being always received with ease, with 
cheerfulness, and cordiality. Those who have known 
York, at the period I am speaking of, cannot fail to re- 
collect the sprightly and engaging Mrs E., the life of all 
the gaiety that could be mustered in the village ; always 
in spirits, full of frolic and glee, and possessing the ta- 
lent of singing agreeably, she was an indispensable in- 
gredient in the little parties of pleasure which sometimes 
took place, and usually consisted in excursions to the Sus- 
quehanna, where the company dined, and, when suc- 
cessful in angling, upon fish of their own catching. It 
was upon one of these occasions, the summer before I 
saw her, that she had attracted the notice of Mr John 
Dickinson, the celebrated author of the Farmer's Letters. 
He had been lavish in her praise in the company of a 
lady of my acquaintance, who told me of it, and thence 
inferred how much I should be pleased with her when I 
got to York. I paid little attention to the information, 
having no conception that I could take any interest in 
the company of a married woman, considerably older than 
myself, and the mother of several children. The sequel 
proved how much I was mistaken, and how essential to 
my satisfaction was female society ; the access to a house 
in which I could domesticate myself, and receive atten- 



106 AUTHOR RETURNS TO PHILADELPHIA. 



tions, not the less grateful from apparently being blend- 
ed with somewhat maternal. The master of the house, 
though much less brilliant than the mistress, was always 
good humoured and kind ; and as they kept a small 
store, I repaid, as well as I could, the hospitality of a 
frequent dish of tea, by purchasing there what articles I 
wanted. 

After whiling away about six months, the allotted time 
of my exile, reading a little law in the morning, and 
either fowling, riding, or strolling along the banks of the 
Codorus, a beautiful stream which passes through the 
town, in the afternoon, I, at length, set out on my re- 
turn to Philadelphia. For the sake of company, and yet 
more for the satisfaction of seeing the country, I took a 
circuitous route, crossing the Susquehanna, at M'CalPs 
Ferry, at the Narrows. This place is rude and roman- 
tic to a great degree. The water is extremely deep, 

above fathoms, as it is stated in Scull's map, and 

the current much obstructed by rocks, which rise above 
the surface in huge and shapeless crags. Leaving the 
river, we crossed the Octararo, which discharges itself 
into it ; and thence, shaping our course through a plea- 
sant country to Newark and Wilmington, we reached 
Philadelphia, after a journey of three or four days, in 
the latter part of October. 

I cannot take my final leave of York before mention- 
ing that I visited it again when congress held their ses- 
sion there in the year 1778. Mr Johnson, who had 
been a widower, was then married to a lady from Mary- 
land. The laws having been silenced by arms, he was 
no longer prothonotary ; and what was still more unfor- 
tunate for him, he had no chance of ever becoming so 
again, being much disaffected to the American cause. 



PROSECUTES THE STUDY OF LAW. 10T 

I found him extremely soured by the state of affairs : 
He was at no pains to conceal his disgust at it, and 
shook his head in fearful anticipation of future calami- 
ties. Five years had produced a considerable change in 
respect to the inhabitants of the town. The young men 
I had been acquainted with had been generally in the 

army, and were consequently dispersed. _ The E s 

were not there, or, at least, I did not see them ; and if 
my memory does not mislead me, the family had remov- 
ed to Baltimore. 

Although I had not made myself a lawyer, I returned 
to the city somewhat improved in health, as well as in 
my habits of living. My disposition, however, was un- 
altered. I still affected the man of pleasure and dissi- 
pation ; had a sovereign contempt for matrimony, and 
was even puppy enough, with shame I yet think of it, to 
ape the style of Lovelace, in some of my epistolary cor- 
respondences. As my uncle was still bent on qualify- 
ing me for the practice of my profession, he proposed my 
pursuing my studies, for the winter, under the direction 
of Mr James Allen. As this gentleman was without a 
clerk, my being there was considered as a matter of mu- 
tual convenience. In return for the use of his books, I 
did the business of his office, which was not very burden- 
some, and left me sufficient time for reading. Mr Al- 
len, the second son of old Mr William Allen, the Chief 
Justice, and perhaps the richest and most influential 
person in the province, was a man of wit and pleasantry, 
who, for the gratification of his ambition, was determin- 
ed also to be a man of business, the only road in Penn- 
sylvania to honours and distinction. For this purpose, 
he engaged in the practice of the law, in which, at this 
time, he was very assiduous and attentive. As he was 



108 



FENCING MR PIKE. 



very gentlemanly in his manners, good-humoured, and 
affable, I passed my time with him altogether to my 
mind. His good sense and good breeding suggested 
the true line of behaviour to one beyond the age of ap- 
prenticeship, and who, though doing the business of a 
clerk, did not perform it for hire. He also took a friend- 
ly interest in my improvement, submitting the cases in 
which he was consulted to my previous examination and 
opinion, and treating the timidity which many feel on 
first speaking in public, as a weakness very easily over- 
come. In relation to the subject, he gave me, I remem- 
ber, a very laughable account of his own coup d'essai in 
conjunction with the facetious Harry Elwes, at Easton. 

To have been regular in the history of my education 
I should have mentioned, that I had already acquired 
sufficient knowledge of French to be able to read it with 
tolerable facility. I now undertook to learn the use of 
the small sword of a Mr Pike, who had lately arrived in 
Philadelphia, and was much celebrated for his ability 
both as a dancing and fencing master. Amusement and 
exercise were my inducements to the undertaking, little 
thinking that I was acquiring professional skill, and that 
a sword in a year or two would be a badge of my cal- 
ling. From what I have since seen, 1 do not think that 
Mr Pike, although, like Rousseau's master, sufficiently 
fier de Vart de tuer un homme, was an accomplished 
swordsman. He nevertheless probably taught the 
science very well, and had certainly a knack of close 
pushing, which I have never met with in any other ; 
that is, in the exercise of quarte and tierce, by placing 
the point of his foil near the guard of his adversary's, he 
could disengage and thrust with such quickness, as with 
certainty to hit the arm of the assailed. I laboured in 



FEXCIXG MR PIKE. 



109 



vain for six or eight months to acquire this dexterity ; 
from continued practice, however, the sleight of hand 
came at last, upon which I valued myself not a little, and 
was equally valued by others. There was but one other 
pupil in the school who had been equally successful, and 
this was my particular friend the Reverend Mr Clay, of 
Newcastle, who was then a merchant, and who, in re- 
spect of his present clerical function, might say, non Jios 
qacesitum munus in usus. This accomplishment had 
nearly brought me, when in the army, into perilous con- 
tact with a Dr Skinner, who had the fame of a duellist, 
and having already killed his man. A Mr Hanson of 
Maryland, who had been a scholar of Pike, and knew 
what I could do, had made a considerable bet with the 
Doctor, that he would find a person in the army, who, in 
spite of him, would hit him in thrusting tierce, or rather 
quarte over the arm. He called upon me, when the ar- 
my lay at Haerlem Heights, to know if I would push : 
With some reluctance I consented, but before the time 
appointed arrived, some movement took place, which se- 
parated me from Mr Skinner, and the question was not 
decided. The instruction I received from Pike I con- 
siderably improved by practice, and began to grow vain 
of my skill, until I met with Major Clow of Colonel 
Baylor's dragoons, who had been a pupil of Angelo and 
others of the best masters in Europe. He soon convin- 
ced me that I had still much room for improvement ; 
though he was pleased to assure me, that I was by far 
the best fencer he had met with in America, and much 
superior to Benson, a fencing-master in New York. 

During the time of my being with Pike, Mentges, 
who was afterwards a colonel in our service, had opened 
a fencing-school. Among his scholars were Messrs Ro- 



110 



FENCING CITY TAVERN. 



beson and Bradford, then students of law, the former 
already spoken of, and the latter of whom became a 
judge of the supreme court of the state, and afterwards 
attorney-general of the United States, Coming into the 
school I was asked to take a foil, and in succession con- 
tended with each of these gentlemen ; but the result was 
unlucky for Mentges, as it too plainly evinced his inca- 
pacity for the business he had undertaken, and, of course, 
soon deprived him of his pupils. 

At the city tavern, which had been recently establish- 
ed, and was in great vogue, I often spent my evenings. 
It was, at this time, much frequented by Mr William 
Hockley, a gentleman of fortune, who was liable to fits 
of mental derangement ; and while these prevailed, was 
a prominent figure at all public places : for, as he was 
perfectly harmless, it was not thought necessary to re- 
strain him from going abroad. The effects of this mis- 
fortune appeal too forcibly to humanity, to be consider- 
ed as the subject of merriment, otherwise the flights of 
this gentleman might, for a short time, have been truly 
amusing. His fancies were the most lively and bril- 
liant that can be imagined. He had full persuasion 
that he excelled in every thing that was worthy of at- 
tention, though the turf and the theatre were the chief 
scenes of his glory. Sometimes he achieved the ex- 
ploits himself; at others, he only witnessed their per- 
formance, and, like Horace' sjiaud ignobilis Argis, con- 
ceived he had been the hearer of the most wonderful ac- 
tors. 

Se credebat miros audire trajedos. 

Whatever he chose to do, that he chose to do best ; 
Hallam was but a fool to him when he chose to be a 



SINGULAR CASE OF MENTAL DERANGEMENT. Ill 

player ; he had more than once, when a fencer, dis- 
armed Pike with a pipe shank ; and had taken, when a 
sportsman, all the purses at all the race-grounds be- 
tween Savannah and New York. His vivid conceptions 
supplied him with a stud ; and he would run over the 
names of his horses and their pedigrees, descanting, as 
he went along, on the respective merits of his riders 
with astonishing volubility, and with a gaiety and spright- 
liness of manner, that even Garrick, if he could have 
equalled, could not have excelled : and this rodomon- 
tade was occasionally accompanied by so peculiarly 
agreeable and animated a laugh, as might have served 
for a model to a performer of genteel comedy. Yet, 
notwithstanding these wild coruscations of genius, Mr 
Hockley, when himself, was remarkably dull and phleg- 
matic ; one who never, perhaps, had had a foil in his 
hand, and who had little or no relish for races or plays. 
His case would almost induce a belief, that there was 
really " a pleasure in being mad, which none but mad- 
men know and that, however deplorable the condi- 
tion of the melancholy or raving maniac, there is a ma- 
lady of the mind, which, in its paroxysms, is nothing 
more than a delightful illusion, — Mentis gratissimus 
error. 

I suppose the time I have now arrived at to be the 
winter of 1774-5. From this era, although I could not 
look back upon my conduct with approbation, I could 
yet do it without anguish or remorse. I had spent much 
time unprofitably, but had been guilty of no baseness : 
I had been rather dissolute in my habits — too indul- 
gent to gay profligacy, and had even sometimes associat- 
ed with it to the disadvantage of my character, but had 
happily preserved myself free from its contagion. I 



HETItOSPECTIVE REFLECTIONS. 



neither liked liquor nor gaming ; I had contracted no 
debts — used no unwarrantable means to obtain money 
or credit ; nor, among my vanities and follies, had I 
ever committed an action which might tend to deprive 
me of that self-respect which is the best security for a 
future course of honourable and moral conduct. I was 
open, however, to a galling self-reproach, in that at 
the age of nearly twenty- three, instead of being in a si- 
tuation to maintain myself, I was still dependant upon 
my mother, not only for necessaries, but my pocket-ex- 
pences, which, though not extremely profuse, were less 
limited than they ought to have been. * 

But a period was now approaching which tended equal- 
ly to interrupt the pursuits of pleasure and of business; 
and, inasmuch as it did the latter, to lessen my chagrin 
at being disqualified for engaging in it. Pennsylvania, 
hitherto so tranquil and so happy, was, in common with 
her sister provinces, about to experience the calamities, 
which, sooner or later, seem the inevitable destiny of 
every region inhabited by man. Her golden age was 
at its close ; and that iron era which was to sever the 
ties of friendship and of blood ; to set father against son, 
and brother against brother, with many other frightful 
evils in its train, was about to supervene. The ministry 



* Even this reproach I might have spared myself, had I reflect- 
ed, that there was exclusively due to me, from my father's estate, 
about L. 170, the proceeds of a prize drawn in the Academy Lot- 
tery, by a ticket presented to me by my grandfather, and for 
which he, as trustee for me, took a bond from my father receiv- 
ing the money, dated 14th September 1756, and which money I 
never demanded. But what is this to the world ? Not much, to 
be sure. Still it is something to a proscribed man, interested in 
mitigating as much as possible his atrocities. 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN WAR. 1 IS 

seemed resolved upon enforcing their assumed right of 
taxing the colonies, and there was an equal determination 
on the part of America to resist the pretension. The 
supremacy of the mother country, it was held, on the 
one hand, necessarily involved the right of legislating over, 
and, consequently, of imposing taxes on, every part of 
her dominions ; while it was contended, on the other, to 
be a fundamental principle of the constitution, that no 
money could be drawn from the people without their con- 
sent, signified through the medium of a representation 
in parliament ; and that, as the colonists had no such re- 
presentation, they were not subject to parliamentary tax- 
ation. An exception was, however, made with respect to 
the regulation of trade, and a distinction was taken be- 
tween internal and external taxes ; the latter of which 
only, not having revenue for their object, it was said, 
could be constitutionally laid. The discussion of the 
points in controversy only served to put the parties fur- 
ther asunder. To the Americans, it disclosed the disad- 
vantages of a dependance on a power so remote as that of 
Britain, and so oppressed by a weight of debt. It was 
also perceived, that as we were not, so neither could we 
be, efficiently represented in her parliament ; and that, 
in any shape, therefore, to admit her right to tax us, 
would be to throw ourselves entirely on the generosity 
of a nation, tempted to large exactions from the consi- 
deration that she would be relieved in proportion to 
what she could draw from us, and prompted to invigo- 
rate the arm of coercion from her observation of our ra- 
pidly increasing strength, which, if not speedily repress- 
ed and held in subjection, might soon defy control. A 
similar view of the subject, no doubt, led the ministry to 
appreciate the importance of retaining, in due depend- 

H 



114 CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN WAR. 

ance, so fruitful a field of exaction ; and to conceive, 
that, if the application of force should be necessary for 
the purpose, the sooner it should be applied the better. 
All things considered, they had certainly some grounds to 
calculate upon success : And as to the proposal of raising, 
by our own legislatures, the supplies that might be ask- 
ed for, besides, that an acquiescence in it would very 
strongly resemble a renunciation of sovereignty, it is 
scarcely in the nature of power to condescend to petition 
for that which it supposes itself able to compel ; and 
pride is ever more gratified in the exercise of generosity, 
than in the performance of justice. The ministry had 
the support of a great majority of the nation at home. 
Interest, which made resistance popular with us, made 
compulsory measures popular with them. It was this 
collison, that, at this time, severed the two countries ; 
though nature, which had placed the Atlantic Ocean 
between them, had thereby interposed an insurmounta- 
ble bar to a much longer colonial connection on consti- 
tutional principles. In another view, when the nurtur- 
ing season is past, the young, of all kinds, are left to act 
for themselves. Even man, by a law of his own pursu- 
ing, that of nature, has appointed a time for the enfran- 
chisement of youth ; and America had perhaps complet- 
ed her years of minority. But waving analogies, that 
may be fitter for illustrations than arguments, the merits 
of the question were, I think, on the side of the colonies ; 
and the inference, that the authority contended for by 
Britain would ultimately reduce them to vassalage, was 
by no means chimerical. This being generally perceiv- 
ed and assented to, a great proportion, and perhaps a great 
majority of the most wealthy and respectable in each of 
the provinces, was arrayed in opposition to the ministe- 



CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN WAR. 



115 



rial claim. I speak of the early stages of the contest. 
In Pennsylvania, this was certainly the case, though, as 
to the extent to which the opposition should be carried, 
there was doubtless a great diversity of opinion ; many 
sincere Whigs considering a separation from the mother 
country as the greatest evil that could befal us. The 
merchants were on the Whig side, with few exceptions ; 
and the lawyers, who, from the bent of their studies, as 
well as their habit of speaking in public, were best quali- 
fied to take a lead in the various assemblies that became 
necessary, were little less unanimous in the same cause. 

A few, indeed, of the oldest and most conspicuous 
practitioners in Philadelphia were either disaffected or 
lukewarm. Among these, Mr Joseph Galloway, though 
a member of the first congress, was known to be a dis- 
approve!' of the measures pursuing. By obtaining a 
seat in congress, therefore, his design undoubtedly was 
to impede, if he could not divert, the current of affairs ; 
but finding no matter to work upon, and taking the 
hint, probably, from a halter coiled up in a box, that was 
said to be sent to him, he gave up the contest, and went 
off to the invading army as soon as an opportunity offer- 
ed. From Mr Chew, Mr Tilghman, and Mr Shippen, 
no activity was expected or claimed, as they were what 
was called Proprietary men, and in the enjoyment, un- 
der that interest, of offices of trust and importance. 
Their favourable disposition to the American cause was, 
however, inferred, from the sons of the two first having 
joined the military associations. Mr John Ross, who 
loved ease and Madeira much better than liberty and 
strife, declared for neutrality, saying, that, let who 
would be king, he well knew that he should be subject. 
An observation, which, judging only from events, may 



M6 STATE OF PARTIES IN PHILADELPHIA, 

be thought by some to contain as much intrinsic wisdom 
as the whole of the Farmer's Letters, with all the legal, 
political, and constitutional knowledge they display. 
But the abuse of liberty ought not to induce apathy to 
oppression, however it may dispose us to deliberate be- 
fore we plunge into a new order of things. Mr James 
Allen was also suspected of having no very cordial af- 
fection for the cause, although he shouldered a musket 
in the ranks of the militia. What chiefly led to the sus- 
picion was, that he had laboured to organize a committee 
of privates, which, however accordant such a measure 
might be, with the republican spirit that was coming in 
fashion, it was, to say the least of it, a very questionable 
experiment on military subordination and discipline. 
As business had, for some time, been entirely laid aside, 
I no longer attended his office, and, consequently, had 
less opportunity of knowing his real sentiments. His 
brother, Mr Andrew Allen, the attorney-general, was 
more ardent, and considered also to be more sincere. 
He had attached himself to the corps of City Cavalry, 
commanded by Mr Marcoe ; but not long after, recog- 
nising his error, he withdrew, giving out that he would 
hang up his cap and regimentals as monuments of his 
folly, and, upon the declaration of independence, he 
sought an asylum with General Howe. These were 
the principal gentlemen of standing in the profession, 
who may be considered as exceptions to the temper of 
the Pennsylvania bar. 

On the Whig side of the question, Mr John Dickin- 
son, always in the political antipodes of Mr Galloway, 
was, at this time, most prominent and distinguished. By 
his Farmer's Letters he had acquired a high reputation, 
both for patriotism and ability ; though he was, if I mis- 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



117 



take not, among the clisapprovers of independence, and 
thence fell under a cloud, which obscured him all the 
war, and even involved him in the suspicion of disaffec- 
tion and toryism. Next in conspicuousness to Mr Dick- 
inson, among the members of the city bar, were Mr Reed 
and Mr M'Kean, each of whom was distinguished both 
during and after the revolution. The young gentlemen 
of the profession, with a few exceptions, were also in 
Whig politics ; and, accordingly, fell into some of the 
associations which were forming for the purpose of ac- 
quiring a knowledge of tactics. In the country the same 
spirit was prevalent at the bar ; the members of which, 
some of whom were of the first eminence, distinguished 
themselves by their zeal in opposition to the ministerial 
claims ; and as these very forcibly appealed to the pock- 
et, the great body of German farmers, extremely tenaci- 
ous of property, were readily gained. Exceptions, how- 
ever, were to be found. The Menonists and some other 
sects were generally disaffected. As to the genuine sons 
of Hibernia, it was enough for them to know that Eng- 
land was the antagonist. Stimulants here were wholly 
superfluous ; and the sequel has constantly shown, that, 
in a contest with Englishmen, Irishmen, like the mettle- 
some coursers of Phaeton, only require reining in. La- 
bor est inhibere volentes. The spirit of liberty and re- 
sistance being so generally diffused, it seems scarcely ne- 
cessary to mention, that it drew into its vortex the me- 
chanical interest, as well as that numerous portion of the 
community in republics, styled The People ; in mo- 
narchies, The Populace ; or still more irreverently, The 
Rabble or Canaille. But, notwithstanding this almost 
unanimous agreement in favour of liberty, neither were 
all disposed to go the same lengths for it, nor were they 



118 



VOLUNTEER COMPANIES- 



perfectly in unison in the idea annexed to it. Wilkes 
had just rendered the term popular in America ; and 
though, perhaps, there is not any one in our language 
more indefinite, yet the sense in which it was, doubtless, 
most generally received, was that which brings it nearest 
to licentiousness and anarchy, since hallowed by the 
phrases of Equality, and the Rights of Man, 

The Quakers, as a society, were charged with disaf- 
fection, and, probably, with truth. They were desirous, 
however, of screening themselves under their non-resist- 
ing principles and known aversion to war ; and in this, 
although they might not have been sincere, they, at least, 
were consistent. But notwithstanding their endeavour 
to keep aloof from the contest, a good number of their 
young men swerved from their tenets ; and affecting 
cockades and uniforms, openly avowed themselves fight- 
ing men. They went so far as to form a company of 
light infantry, under the command of Mr Copperthwaite, 
which was called The Quaker Blues, and instituted in a 
spirit of competition with The Greens, or, as they were 
sneeringly styled, The Silk Stocking Company, com- 
manded by Mr John Cadwalader, and which having ear- 
ly associated, had already acquired celebrity. This nick- 
name evinced that the canker-worm jealousy already taint- 
ed the infantile purity of our patriotism. The command 
of this company, consisting of the flower of the city, was 
too fine a feather in the cap of its leader to be passed by 
unenvied : it was therefore branded as an aristocratic as- 
semblage, and Mr (since General) Mifflin had the cre- 
dit of inventing the invidious appellation. To this asso- 
ciation I belonged. There were about seventy of us. We 
met morning and evening, and from the earnest and even 
enthusiastic devotion of most of us to learn the duty of 



VOLUNTEER COMPANIES. 



119 



soldiers, the company, in the course of a summer's train- 
ing, became a truly respectable militia corps. When it 
had attained some adroitness in the exercises, we met 
but once a day. This was in the afternoon, and the 
place of rendezvous the house of the captain, where ca- 
pacious demi-johns of Madeira were constantly set out 
in the yard where we formed, for our refreshment be- 
fore marching out to exercise. The ample fortune of 
Mr Cadwalader had enabled him to fill his cellars with 
the choicest liquors ; and it must be admitted, that he 
dealt them out with the most gentlemanly liberality. He 
probably meant it, in part, as an indemnification for our 
voluntary submission, while under arms, to all the essen- 
tial points, as well as the little etiquette of subordina- 
tion, required of privates under the most regular dis- 
cipline. 

On taking a retrospect of the company, and looking 
round for those who remain of it, I see a few who are yet 
alive, and in respectable situations. Much the greater 
number, however, have resigned their places to that pos- 
terity, for whose interests it was the fashion of seventy- 
six to be extremely concerned. It is to be hoped, there- 
fore, that posterity will continue to pay the easy recom- 
pence of an annual toast to the memory of those depart- 
ed friends, who no longer stand in their way. But I am 
chiefly struck with the strong tendency to evaporation 
which inheres in a fiery zeal, as well as with the utter 
insignificance of that dull quality consistency, on the 
versatile scale of republican virtue. I have a gentleman 
in my eye who was ever among the foremost in patriot- 
ism, and for volunteering our services on every occasion. 
Was there an enterprise in view, replete with difficulty 
and danger 1 The Greens, in his opinion, should mono- 



120 



POLITICAL CONSISTENCY. 



polize, or at least partake of the glory. Was there a sa- 
crifice to be made to economy ! They should be the first 
to set an example of frugality to their countrymen. In 
short, were it " to fight, to fast, to drink up Elsil, eat a 
crocodile, he'd do't." Yet this gentleman, so full of 
zeal in seventy-five, was so thoroughly emptied of it in 
seventy-six, as to translate himself to the royal standard 
in New York ; for which, however, he found a salvo in 
the declaration of independence. On the conclusion of the 
war, he was, in consideration of his youth and inexperience 
when he committed the faux pas, permitted to return to 
the bosom of his country, and adroitly failing in with 
the views of the prevailing party, he obtained a subordi- 
nate appointment in the treasury department, during the 
presidencies of Washington and Adams ; when again 
wheeling about with the public sentiment, which usher- 
ed into office first M'Kean and then Jefferson, he ob- 
tained, upon the principle probably of a quid pro quo, 
an office from each of them, the latter of which he yet 
retains, and, like the French revolution, returning to the 
point from which it set out, he is now as pure a patriot 
as he was at the commencement of his career. It must 
be confessed, that the gentleman has had a serpentine 
course : Yet, without arraigning his motives, which may 
have been good, though diversified, I shall content my- 
self with observing, that he has had the singular fortune 
to behold, with equal eye, the carting of the Tories in 
Philadelphia in the year J77^? the sad havoc of the 
Whigs in New York in the year 1776 ; the discomfi- 
ture of the Anti-federalists in the years 1790 and 1794 ; 
then the overthrow and persecution of the Federalists 
in the year 1800 : In each and every of these turmoils 
he has contrived to be uppermost, and still rides tri- 



PREPARATIONS FOR WAR ANECDOTE. 121 

umphant on the surface of the tempestuous sea, an un- 
equivocal proof of his fitness for the times in which he 
has been destined to appear. This instance would not 
have been adverted to, were it not that, in an illustration 
of the times, it was too remarkable to be omitted. 

In preparing for the scene of war that was approach- 
ing, no martial employment was neglected. It was even 
deemed of consequence to be a marksman with a pistol ; 
and connected with this object, I recollect an unplea- 
sant incident, which might also have proved a serious 
one. Captain Biddle and myself, having gone out to 
take a shot, and posted ourselves in a situation thought 
convenient and safe, we marked our target on a board 
fence, in a cross street, between Arch and Race Streets. 
We had fired several times, and were loading again, when, 
a man suddenly coming upon us, out of breath, pale as ash- 
es, without his hat, and his hair standing on end, exclaim- 
ed that we had killed his child. This information, as 
may be supposed, put a stop to our amusement ; and we 
immediately accompanied him to his house with feelings 
not to be envied. When we arrived, however, we 
found matters not so bad as had been anticipated. The 
child was crying in its mother's arms : it had been 
struck upon the body ; but the force of the blow had 
been broken by a loose linsey petticoat. The ball had 
passed through a pane of glass ; and, from the appear- 
ance of the hole, exactly corresponding to its size, with- 
out diverging cracks, it must have had considerable 
force, though discharged at a distance which we thought 
greater than our pistols would carry. By expressions of 
concern for the accident, and the accompaniment of a 
few dollars, our transgression was overlooked, and all 
perturbation composed. 



EARLY ATTACHMENT. 



The daily, unremitted course of exercise which my 
military duties and my fencing at this time imppsed, 
had thoroughly established my health. The serious as- 
pect of the times had also brought temperance into fa- 
shion ; and, instead of tavern suppers, I generally passed 
my evenings with my female acquaintance, among 
whom there was one to whom my affections were deep- 
ly and permanently engaged. The attachment was re- 
ciprocal ; and the din of arms which threatened us with 
a separation, involving a cruel uncertainty in respect 
to the destiny of our love, but served to render it 
more ardent and more tender. Vows of constancy 
were mutually plighted; and we gave so much of our 
time to each other, that I had little to spare to my 
quondam companions, whom I was really desirous of 
shaking off, and who, on their part, complained that 
I had turned dangler, and become good for nothing. 
There was a time when their raillery might have had 
some effect, but now it was entirely thrown away, and, 
like a true knight, I wholly devoted myself to my mis- 
tress and my country. 

Among the disaffected in Philadelphia, Dr Kearsley 
was pre-eminently ardent and rash. An extremely 
zealous loyalist, and impetuous in his temper, he had 
given much umbrage to the Whigs ; and, if I am not 
mistaken, he had been detected in some hostile machi- 
nations. Hence he was deemed a proper subject for 
the fashionable punishment of tarring, feathering, and 
carting. He was seized at his own door by a party of 
the militia, and, in the attempt to resist them, received 
a wound in his hand from a bayonet. Being over- 
powered, he was placed in a cart provided for the 
purpose, and, amidst a multitude of boys and idlers, pa- 



DR KEARSLEY AND kR HUNT CARTED. 



123 



raded through the streets to the tune of the rogues' 
march. I happened to be at the coffeehouse when the 
concourse arrived there. They made a halt, while the 
Doctor, foaming with rage and indignation, without his 
hat, his wig dishevelled and bloody from his wounded 
hand, stood up in the cart and called for a bowl of punch. 
It was quickly handed to him ; when, so vehement was 
his thirst, that he drained it of its contents before he 
took it from his lips. What were the feelings of others 
on this lawless proceeding I know not, but mine, I must 
confess, revolted at the spectacle. I was shocked at see- 
ing a lately respected citizen so cruelly vilified, and was 
imprudent enough to say, that, had I been a magistrate, 
I would, at every hazard, have interposed my authority 
in suppression of the outrage. But this was not the on- 
ly instance which convinced me that I wanted nerves 
for a revolutionist. It must be admitted, however, that 
the conduct of the populace was marked by a lenity which 
peculiarly distinguished the cradle of our republicanism. 
Tar and feathers had been dispensed with, and, except- 
ing the injury he had received in his hand, no sort of vio- 
lence was offered by the mob to their victim. But to a 
man of high spirit, as the Doctor was, the indignity in 
its lightest form was sufficient to madden him : it pro- 
bably had this effect, since his conduct became so ex- 
tremely outrageous, that it was thought necessary to 
confine him. From the city he was soon after removed 
to Carlisle, where he died during the war. 

A few days after the carting of Mr Kearsley, Mr 
Isaac Hunt, the attorney, was treated in the same 
manner, but he managed the matter much better than 
his precursor. Instead of braving his conductors like 
the Doctor, Mr Hunt was a pattern of meekness and hu- 
mility y and at every halt that was made, he rose and ex- 



124 



ANECDOTE OF MAJOR SKENE. 



pressed his acknowledgments to the crowd for their for- 
bearance and civility. After a parade of an hour or 
two, he was set down at his own door, as uninjured in 
body as in mind. He soon after removed to one of the 
islands, if I mistake not, to Barbadoes, where, it was un- 
derstood, he took orders. 

Not long after these occurrences, Major Skene, of the 
British army, ventured to show himself in Philadelphia. 
Whatever might have been his inducement to the mea- 
sure, it was deemed expedient by the newly constituted 
authorities to have him arrested and secured. A guard 
was accordingly placed over him at his lodgings, at the city 
tavern. The officer to whose charge he was especially 
committed was Mr Francis Wade, the brewer, an Irish- 
man of distinguished zeal in the cause, and one who 
was supposed to possess talents peculiarly befitting him 
for the task of curbing the spirit of an haughty Briton, 
which Skene undoubtedly was. I well recollect the day 
that the guard was paraded to escort him out of the city 
on his way to some other station. An immense crowd 
of spectators stood before the door of his quarters, and 
lined the street through which he was to pass. The 
weather being warm, the window sashes of his apartment 
were raised, and Skene, with his bottle of wine upon the 
table, having just finished his dinner, roared out, in the 
voice of a Stentor, God save great George our King. 
Had the spirit of seventy-five, in any degree, resembled 
the spirit of Jacobinism, to which it has been unjustly 
compared, this bravado would unquestionably have 
brought the major to the lamp post, and set his head 
upon a pike ; but as, fortunately for him, it did not, he 
was suffered to proceed with his song, and the auditory 
seemed more generally amused than offended. 

8 



ASSEMBLY OF CONGRESS. 



125 



CHAPTER V. 

Assembly of Congress — Continental Battalions — Recruiting—* 
The Author charged with a Commission to General Schuy- 
ler — Narrative of his Journey. 

In the spring of 1*775 Congress assembled in Phila- 
delphia. It was in every respect a venerable assembly ; 
and although Pennsylvania had delegated to it some of 
her most distinguished characters, they were supposed to 
be eclipsed by the superior talents which came from the 
southward and eastward. New England had sent her 
Adams's, and Virginia her Lee's and Henry's ; all of 
whom were spoken of as men of the first rate abilities. 
Not long after the organization of this body, their presi- 
dent, Peyton Randolph of Virginia, died, and John 
Hancock of Boston was selected to supply his place. 
Towards the close of the year, they passed a resolution 
for levying some continental battalions, four of which 
were to be raised in Pennsylvania. One had already 
been raised and officered by the province ; but as the ap- 
plicants for commissions in this were not of my set of 
acquaintance, I did not apply. Upon the promulgation, 
however, of this resolution of congress, I signified to the 
committee of safety, in whom the power of appoint- 
ment was lodged, and of which body my uncle was 
a member, my wish to be employed. The appointments 
were made, and in a list of thirty-two captains, I ranked 
the sixteenth, and accordingly received my commission 



126 



CONTINENTAL BATTALIONS. 



from congress, dated January the 6th, 1776. Upon this 
nomination of the committee of safety, which also extend- 
ed to all the inferior commissioned officers, the field offi- 
cers, who had already been assigned to particular battalions, 
had a meeting for the purpose of selecting their captains 
and subalterns. In this arrangement, it fell to my lot 
to be attached to the third battalion, under the command 
of Colonel John Shee, and of which Mr Lambert Cad- 
walader, the younger brother of Mr John Cadwalader, 
already mentioned, was lieutenant-colonel. It appeared 
to have been the primary object of these gentlemen to 
select, as much as possible, their officers from the city and 
its neighbourhood, of whom they had a greater proportion 
than was to be found in either of the other regiments, 
respectively commanded by St Clair, Wayne, and Ma- 
gaw. But this circumstance, though it might have a 
propitious influence on the discipline of the regiment 
when raised, was certainly unfavourable to the business 
of recruiting, since, as the country was chiefly to be de- 
pended upon for men, country officers would, of course, 
have the best chance of obtaining them. 

But two gentlemen, of what might be called our 
principal families, had come forward on this occasion. 
These were Mr Cadwalader, and Mr William Allen, 
who was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the regiment of 
St Clair : so that, of four sons, the eldest alone, Mr 
John Allen, was an acknowledged disapprover of our 
proceedings. The father, too old to be active, was yet 
supposed to lean to the Whig side. It would appear, 
however, from the sequel, that this family were either 
never cordial in the cause, or that they had inconsider- 
ately imagined that its object might be obtained by a re- 
solute show of resistance merely, since, upon the adop- 

4 



STATE OF PARTIES — MR RICHARD PEHN. 1&7 

tion of the measure of independence, all the sons, except- 
ing James, joined General Howe in New York. He 
remained at home, and took his chance with his native 
country, though wholly inactive. I remember once see- 
ing him on New York Island, towards the close of the 
summer of 1776, where he probably came to see how the 
land lay. But he was then in declining health, and, in 
somewhat more than a year after, was removed from all 
sublunary solicitudes ; as was his father also before the 
close of the war. The Revolution was fatal to this fami- 
ly, precipitating it from the very pinnacle of importance 
in Pennsylvania, down to the lowest depth of insignifi- 
cance with both parties. Its early whiggism had perhaps 
as much disgusted the Tories, as its final defection had ex- 
asperated the Whigs ; and the British army, though it 
yielded it protection, afforded it little of respect. Mr 
AYilliam Allen endeavoured to recover his consequence 
by raising, or endeavouring to raise, a regiment on the 
royal side in Philadelphia in the year 1778> very pom- 
pously heading his recruiting advertisement with the 
words, Nil desperandum Tencro dace, et auspice Tea- 
cro. It is to be presumed, however, that this swagger- 
ing motto referred to General Howe, and not to himself. 

Nor, in adverting to the mutability of human affairs, 
can we overlook the unfavourable tendency of the con- 
test to the proprietary family. Both the brothers, John 
and Richard Penn, had been governors of Pennsylvania ; 
the former being in office at the beginning of hostilities. 
By yielding to the torrent, which it would have been im- 
possible to withstand, he gave no offence, and avoided re- 
proach ; though it was deemed expedient to have him 
secured and removed from Philadelphia on the approach 
of the royal army in the year 1777. Mr Richard Penn, 



128 



CHARACTER OF MR PENN. 



having no official motives for reserve, was even upon 
terms of familiarity with some of the most thorough-go- 
ing Whigs, such as General Lee and others : An evi- 
dence of this was the pleasantry ascribed to him, on occa- 
sion of a member of congress, one day, observing to his 
compatriots, that, at all events, " they must hang toge- 
ther." — " If you do not, gentlemen," said Mr Penn, " I 
can tell you, that you will be very apt to hang separately." 

Of all the governors of Pennsylvania, under the old 
?-egime, he was probably the most popular, though his 
popularity might not have been precisely of the kind 
which irradiates a favourite of the present day. It was, 
it must be confessed, a good deal confined to the city ; 
and perhaps rather much to that description of persons 
who are not the chosen people of Virginia republicanism. 
But it was such as was then in fashion, and good and 
substantial enough for those who knew no better. It re- 
quired, however, fewer sacrifices, and might yield, possi- 
bly, as much pleasure on retrospection, as that enjoyed 
by the most idolized of our democratic worthies. 

Against the expected hostilities Pennsylvania had 
made immense exertions. Prior to the four regiments 
of St Clair, Shee, Wayne, and Magaw, that of De Haas, 
and Hand's rifle regiment, were already raised and 
equipped; and afterwards, Irvine's, and two provincial 
battalions, respectively commanded by Miles and Atlee, 
in the whole, nine regiments, complete and very reputa- 
bly officered. Had all the other provinces done as much 
in proportion to their ability, and the men been enlisted 
for the war, we might have avoided the hair-breadth 
escapes which ensued. 

To return to smaller concerns. An anxiety, little in- 
ferior to that of the colonels, in procuring what they 



LEVY OF TROOPS OFFICERS. 



129 



thought good officers for their regiments, at this time 
agitated the commanders of companies, in respect to the 
subalterns that should be assigned them. My second 
lieutenant, Mr Forrest, who had served his apprentice- 
ship to an apothecary in Philadelphia, I well knew to be 
active, capable, and more than commonly adroit in the 
military exercises, but my first lieutenant I had not yet 
seen. I was not, however, long in the dark ; and when 
he appeared, I cannot say that his exterior was the most 
prepossessing, or that it announced those qualities we at 
first look for in the soldier. He was tall, extremely 
thin, and somewhat lounging in his appearance ; and to 
add to its uncouthness, he wore an enormous fur cap. 
Colonel Shee used to describe, somewhat humorously, his 
first impression upon him ; and when he was first seen 
by a little Scotch servant boy of my mother's, who after- 
wards became my drummer, he emphatically exclaimed, 
Well, sic an a spindle ! Yet for all this, any man might 
have thought himself honoured in having Mr Edwards 
for his lieutenant. Though born in Pennsylvania, he 
was recent from a college in Rhode Island. Possessing 
good sense, a remarkable aptitude to take a polish, and 
talents to recommend himself to his superiors in com- 
mand, he soon obtained the favour of the colonels of the 
regiment, with whom he was upon a very familiar foot- 
ing. He was, besides, a man of courage, and in the 
course of the war, became the aid-de-camp and particu- 
lar friend of General Lee, so much so, that he was one 
of the principal devisees in the will of that officer. Of 
my ensign, it will be enough to say, that he was a plain 
and unaspiring man, who, in the walk of humble duty, 
" kept the noiseless tenor of his way." 

The object now, was to raise my company, and as the 

i 



132 



RECRUITING. 



neral taste, and were, of course, popular with us ; but 
the true merits of the contest were little understood or 
regarded. The opposition to the claims of Britain ori- 
ginated with the better sort : it was truly aristocratic in 
its commencement ; and as the oppression to be appre- 
hended had not been felt, no grounds existed for gene- 
ral enthusiasm. The cause of liberty, it is true, was 
fashionable, and there were great preparations to fight 
for it ; but a zeal, proportioned to the magnitude of the 
question, was only to be looked for in the minds of those 
sagacious politicians, who inferred effects from causes, 
and who, as Mr Burke expresses it, " snuffed the ap- 
proach of tyranny in every tainted breeze/ 5 

Certain it was, at least, that recruiting went on but 
heavily. Some officers had been more successful than 
others, but none of the companies were complete : mine, 
perhaps, contained about half its complement of men, 
and these had been obtained by dint of great exertion. 
In this situation, Captain Lenox of Shee's regiment also, 
suggested the trying our luck on the Eastern shore of 
Maryland, particularly at Chester, situated on the river 
of that name. It having been a place of some trade, it 
was supposed there might be seamen or long shore men 
there, out of employ. We accordingly set out on the 
expedition, making our first effort at Warwick, an in- 
considerable village, a few miles within the boundaries 
of Maryland. Here we remained a day or two, our 
stay having been prolonged by bad weather. At the 
tavern we put up at, we made acquaintance with a gen- 
tleman of note, who resided in the neighbourhood, and 
pretty generally known by the familiar name of Dan 
Heath, He seemed to like our company, as he was 
continually with us while we staid. Mr Heath was a 



RECRUITING BITING AND GOUGING. 



13S 



sportsman, and apparently too little interested in politi- 
cal concerns, to be either much of a Whig or a Tory, 
though, from the indifference he evinced, we rather con- 
cluded him the latter. He helped us, however, to a re- 
cruit, a fellow, he said, who would do to stop a bullet as 
well as a better man, and, as he was a truly worthless 
dog, he held, that the neighbourhood would be much in- 
debted to us for taking him away. When we left War- 
wick, he fulfilled his promise of accompanying us some 
miles under pretence of aiding us in getting men, but as 
he showed us none, we were convinced that he attend- 
ed us more for hk own sake than ours, and that, having 
nothing to do, probably, he had availed himself of the 
opportunity to kill a little time. He gave the tone to 
the conversation on the road, which generally turned on 
the sports of the turf and the cockpit ; but he never 
spoke with so much animation, as when expatiating on 
those feats of human prowess, wherein victory is a- 
chieved by tooth and nail, in modern phrase, by biting 
and gouging : and pointing out to us one of the heroes 
of these direful conflicts, " There," says he, " is a fellow 
that has not his match in the country : see what a set 
of teeth he has, a man's thumb would be nothing to 
them." 

On bidding good morning to Mr Heath, with whose 
vivacity we were amused, we pursued our course to 
Chester, and as soon as we arrived there, delivered our 
letters of introduction. The gentlemen to whom they 
were addressed received us with the utmost politeness, 
and declared their warmest wishes for the success of our 
errand, though accompanied with expressions of regret, 
that they could not give us encouragement to beat up 
in their town, as well because there were few, if any, in 



134 



Ain?HOR , S ILL SUCCESS IN RAISING MEN, 



it, that were likely to enlist, as that their own province 
was about raising troops ; and as that was the case, it 
would not be taken well should they assist in transfer- 
ring any of their men to the line of Pennsylvania. With 
such unfavourable prospects in Maryland, it would have 
been folly to have proceeded further : we, therefore, set 
off on our way home the next morning, declining seve- 
ral invitations to dinner. We found this country well 
deserving of its reputation for hospitality. Between 
Warwick and Georgetown, we were taken home to 
lodge by a gentleman of the name of Wilmer, whom we 
had never seen before : We were warmly pressed by 
Mr Harry Pierce, with whom we met by accident on 
the road, to spend some time with him at his residence 
in the neighbourhood, and met with no less cordiality 
from Mr Thomas Ringold, of Chester, who had once, 
when very young, lodged at my mother's. Returning 
by Warwick, we sent forward our solitary recruit, for 
whom we tossed up ; and in winning, I was, in fact, 
but a very small gainer, since his merits had been set at 
their full value by Mr Heath ; and he was never fit for 
any thing better than the inglorious post of camp colour 
man. 

After this unsuccessful jaunt I bent my course to the 
Four Jane-ends, Newtown, and Corryell's Ferry ; thence 
passing into Jersey, I proceeded to the Hickory tavern, 
to Pittstown, Baptisttown, Flemmingtown, and other 
towns, whose names I do not remember. As Captain 
Stewart (the late General Walter Stewart) of our regiment 
had recently reapt this field, I was only a gleaner : In the 
whole of my tour, therefore, I picked up but three or 
four men : and could most sincerely have said, 



MILITARY DISCIPLINE. 



135 



That the recruiting trade, with all its train 
Of endless care, fatigue, and endless pain, 

I could most gladly have renounced, even without the 
very preferable alternative of Captain Plume. My 
number of privates might now have amounted to about 
forty, but these were soon augmented by the noble ad- 
dition of one and twenty stout native Americans, brought 
by Lieutenants Edwards and Forrest from Egg Har- 
bour. 

Towards spring our battalion was complete ; and 
already, from the unremitted attention that had been 
paid to it by the officers of every grade, it had made, for 
so short a time, a very laudable progress in discipline. 
Besides partial drillings, it was exercised every morning 
and evening ; and what was of still more importance, 
habits of obedience and subordination were strictly in- 
culcated and maintained. We were comparatively well 
armed, uniformed, and equipped ; and it is but justice 
to say, that, in point of all the exteriors, by which mili- 
tary corps are tested, ours was on a footing with the 
most promising on the continent. We were quartered 
in the barracks, together with the other battalions that 
were raising ; and by way of counteracting the general 
gloom, not diminished by the practice of fast days and 
sermons, borrowed from New England, we promoted 
balls and other amusements. Had the contest been a 
religious one, and our people been inflamed by a zeal on 
points of faith like the Crusaders, or the army of Crom- 
well, this might have been the proper method of ex- 
citing them to acts of heroism ; but they were to be 
taken as they were, and as this was not the case, it was 
certainly not the mode to make soldiers in Pennsylvania. 
The puritanical spirit was unknown among us; and the 



136 



AUTHOR SENT ON A MISSION. 



endeavour to promote it did but conflict with other 
propensities on which a military ardour might be en- 
grafted. It might, however, have been wholly differ- 
ent in New England : but whether so or not, General 
Lee, with his usual profaneness, treated their solemni- 
ties with ridicule, telling them, in the spirit of the an- 
cient fable of Hercules and the waggoner, that Heaven 
was ever found favourable to strong battalions. 

About the close of the month of May I was appoint- 
ed to carry a sum of money in specie to General Schuy- 
ler at Lake George, for the purpose of promoting the 
operations in Canada ; and I owed my nomination to 
this service to the friendly intentions of President Han- 
cock, who had particularly designated me. Ensign 
Stout was the officer assigned by Colonel Shee to accom- 
pany me. We accordingly set out in a chair, that being 
thought the most convenient mode of carrying the mo- 
ney, which was enclosed in two or three sealed bags. 
One soldier, mounted and armed in addition, constituted 
the escort ; and we were furnished with credentials for 
obtaining fresh horses as often as they might be neces- 
sary. To see the country between New York and the 
lake, which was entirely new, both to my companion and 
myself, was highly agreeable ; but we did not so well like 
the responsibility of our charge. It is obvious that it 
might have been wrested from us without great difficul- 
ty, even though each one of the triumvirate had posses- 
sed the bravery of Caesar. Hence, policy dictated the 
concealment of the treasure, so far as might consist with 
the requisite vigilance. At Princeton, where we dined 
on the second day of our journey, we thought proper to 
have our bags brought into our room. 7 The innkeeper, 
like the generality of his profession, was loquacious and 



ANECDOTE OF BARON WOEDKIE. 



137 



inquisitive ; and being an extremely good Whig into the 
bargain, took the liberty of sounding us respecting the 
contents of our bags, of which he had formed a very 
shrewd guess. We did not think it necessary to deny 
that they contained money, or to conceal from him the 
object of our mission, which he was equally desirous of 
knowing. Upon learning that the destination was Ca- 
nada, he entered into a dissertation upon our affairs in 
that quarter, telling us among other things, that the 
Prussian General, the Baron Woedkie, had been a few 
days before at his house, on his way to that country. 
But he reprobated the baron in very hard terms, repeat- 
edly exclaiming, with a most significant emphasis, that 
he was no general ; and in the sequel, favouring us with 
his reasons for this opinion, gave us to understand, that 
he (the baron) had made his servant grease with a fea- 
ther a certain part, to which he gave its very coarsest ap- 
pellation, that had suffered from the friction of riding. 
Whether our host had become acquainted with this cir- 
cumstance by looking through a key-hole, or by what 
other means, we were not informed, but its unlucky ef- 
fect upon him convinced me of the justness of the obser- 
vation, that no man is a hero to his valet de chambre. 
This same baron it was, who, finding liberty one day the 
impassioned theme of some members of congress, and 
others, exclaimed — Ah ! liberdy is a Jine ding ; I likes 
liberdy ; der Koenig von Prusse is a great man for li- 
berdy ! and so no doubt he was, for his own liberty or 
importance as a member of the Germanic body ; and it 
might puzzle many a flaming demagogue to show a bet- 
ter title to the character. 

But notwithstanding this requisite for our service, 
evinced by the baron's love of liberty, I believe he did 



138 NEW YORK MILITARY PREPARATIONS. 

not very well suit us ; and that, although The Prussian 
General made a great noise upon his first appearance, 
the public mind in respect to him, whether correct or 
not, pretty well accorded with that of our host, who, at 
parting with us, expressed much anxiety for our safety, 
and that of our charge, recommending to us in future, 
not to take our bags out of the chair, where we break- 
fasted and dined. The propriety of this advice we were 
aware of, and observed it where practicable ; that is, 
where the treasure was sufficiently under our eyes with- 
out removal. 

At New York, we spent about an hour in a slight 
survey of the barricades, which General Lee had caused 
to be thrown across some of the streets ; and on our way 
out of town, fell in with a New England regiment at ex- 
ercise. Its commander was extremely busy in instruct- 
ing his troops in street-firing, at that day our most fa- 
vourite manoeuvre ; as we simply supposed that all our 
great battles were to be fought in our cities. We sur- 
veyed these men with all the respect that was due to the 
great military reputation of their country ; but we were 
obliged to confess, that they did not entirely come up to 
the ideas we had formed of the heroes of Lexington and 
Bunker's Hill. This we took to be a militia corps, from 
the circumstance of its not being a whit superior, in any 
visible respect, to the worst of ours. However, thought 
we, these men may nevertheless have some knack at 
fighting, which only discloses itself in the moment of ac- 
tion. 

After leaving New York, we passed through a number 
of villages between that city and Albany ; but these, of 
which the almanacks will give a much more accurate ac- 
count than I can, I shall neither undertake to name or 

12 



ROAD TO ALBANY. 



139 



locate. Poughkeepsie, however, must be excepted; as 
here we quartered for a night, under the hospitable roof 
of old Dr Baird, so called to distinguish him from his 
son of the same profession. The Doctor was a relation 
of Mr Stout's, and on my being made known to him, I 
had the satisfaction to find that he had formerly been 
acquainted with both my father and mother, of whom he 
spoke in the warmest and most friendly terms. My mo- 
ther, he was pleased to say, he remembered the finest 
girl in Philadelphia ; and that she had the manners of 
a lady bred at court. The old gentleman was one of 
those who went under the denomination of Tories ; but 
if it was justly applied, he possessed too much liberality 
to permit his politics, in any degree, to interfere with 
the duties of hospitality. He considered us probably as 
young men, deluded, but not seditious ; as accessary to, 
but not responsible for, the calamities which were about 
to befal the country ; and in addition to a good supper, 
entertained us with the military exploits of the Duke of 
Marlborough, who appeared to be his favourite hero. 

In the morning betimes we pursued our journey, and 
in the course of it reached Albany about noon. Here 
we dined with a gentleman in regimentals, bearing the 
title of major ; though I do not either recollect his 
name, or the corps to which he belonged, if, indeed, he 
belonged to any, for majors and captains had by this 
time become very good travelling appellations. He had 
just returned from Canada, and drew a most lamentable 
picture of our affairs in that country, descanting upon 
men and things with equal freedom and satire. He de- 
livered himself with unusual flippancy ; and wound up a 
very animated philippic upon our military operations in 
that quarter, with an, " In short, gentlemen, we have 



140 



SARATOGA FORT EDWARD. 



commissaries there without provisions ; quartermasters 
without stores ; generals without troops j and troops 
without discipline, by G-d." 

Leaving Albany, we passed by Stillwater, Saratoga, 
and other places, which have since acquired interest from 
the defeat and surrender of General Burgoyne and his 
army. Near to Fort Edward we met Dr Franklin, Mr 
Carroll, and (I think) Mr Chase, returning from Cana- 
da, to which they had been deputed commissioners from 
congress. We delivered them a letter from that body, 
as we had been enjoined to do in case of meeting them, 
as also to take their orders in respect to our ulterior pro- 
ceedings : As they made no change in our destination, 
we went on. Immediately beyond Fort Edward, the 
country assumed a dreary, cheerless aspect. Between 
this and Lake George, a distance of about twelve miles, 
it was almost an entire wood, acquiring a deeper gloom, 
as well from the general prevalence of pines, as from its 
dark extended covert being presented to the imagination 
as an appropriate scene for the " treasons, stratagems, 
and spoils," of savage hostility ; to which purpose it had 
been devoted in former days of deadly dissention. It 
was in this tract of country that several actions had been 
fought ; that Baron Dieskau had been defeated ; and 
that American blood had flowed, as well as English and 
French ; in commemoration of which, the terror we at- 
tach to the adventitious circumstances which seem to ac- 
celerate man's doom, had given to a piece of standing 
water, near the road, the name of Bloody Pond. The 
descending sun had shed a browner horror on the wil- 
derness ; and as we passed the dismal pool, we experi- 
enced that transient emotion of commiseration, which is 
natural to the mind when contemplating past events, in- 



LAKE GEORGE GENERAL SCHUYLER^ 



141 



volving the fall of friends, the fortune of war, and the 
sad lot of human kind. Denique ob casus bellorum, et 
sortem hominum. 

At length, after a journey of three hundred and 
twenty miles, arriving at the quarters of General Schuy- 
ler on the border of the lake, we acquitted ourselves of 
our charge. He proposed to me, if agreeable, to go on 
with it ; but in addition to attractions of a private na- 
ture which drew me to Philadelphia, the wish to be 
there in order to make provision for our march to New 
York, orders for which had been daily expected before 
we set out, induced me to decline the opportunity of 
seeing the country beyond the lake, as well as my friends 
in the northern army. We, therefore, only staid at this 
post until the return dispatches to congress were prepar- 
ed, which was the third day after our arrival. 

Though General Schuyler has been charged with 
such haughtiness of demeanour, as to have induced the 
troops of New England to decline serving under his 
command, as stated in Marshall's Life of Washington, 
the reception we met with was not merely courteous, 
but kind. His quarters being contracted, a bed was 
prepared for us in his own apartment, and we experi- 
enced civilities that were flattering from an officer of his 
high rank. Though thoroughly the man of business, he 
was also a gentleman and a man of the world ; and well 
calculated to sustain the reputation of our army in the 
eyes of the British officers, (disposed to depreciate it,) as 
is evidenced by the account given by General Burgoyne 
of the manner in which he was entertained by him at Al- 
bany. But that he should have been displeasing to the 
Yankies, I am not at all surprised : He certainly was at 



142 CHARACTER OF GENERAL SCHUYLER. 

no pains to conceal the extreme contempt he felt for a 
set of officers, who were both a disgrace to their stations 
and the cause in which they acted ! Being yet a stran- 
ger to the character of these men, and the constitution 
of that part of our military force which in Pennsylvania 
was considered as the bulwark of the nation, I must con- 
fesss my surprise at an incident which took place while 
at dinner. Besides the General, the members of his 
family and ourselves, there were at table a lady and gen- 
tleman from Montreal. A New England captain came 
in upon some business, with that abject servility of man- 
ner which belongs to persons of the meanest rank ; he 
was neither asked to sit or take a glass of wine, and after 
announcing his wants, was dismissed with that peevish- 
ness of tone we apply to a low and vexatious intruder. 
This man, in his proper sphere, might have been entitled 
to better treatment ; but when presuming to thrust him- 
self into a situation, in which far other qualifications 
than his were required, and upon an occasion, too, which 
involved some of the most important of human interests, 
I am scarcely prepared to say it was unmerited. 

The day we spent at this station was employed in tak- 
ing a view of the remains of Fort William Henry, and 
in sauntering along the margin of the immense fountain 
of pure water which constitutes Lake George. We 
were much indebted, upon this occasion, to the polite at- 
tentions of Mr Brockolst Livingston, who was, at this 
time, one of the aids-de»camp of General Schuyler, and 
who so far dispensed with his avocations as to show us 
what was worthy of being seen. We lost no time in 
setting off, as soon as the dispatches were ready for us ; 
and returned with all possible expedition, in order to pre- 



AUTHOR RETURNS TO HIS REGIMENT. 



143 



pare ourselves for the expected march of our regiment 
to join the main army under the commander-in-chief. 
Orders for that purpose had already been received, and 
were complied with in about a week after our return. 
The troops were transported by water to Trenton ; from 
whence, marching to Elizabethtown, they were again 
embarked in vessels which carried them to New 
York. 



author's feelings. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Author reluctantly leaves Philadelphia — Character of the 
Army at New York — Erection of Fort Washington and 
Fort Lee — Connecticut Light House — Arrival of the Bri- 
tish Troops at Long Island — Action of 27th of August and 
subsequent Skirmishes — Retreat qf Americans from Long 
Island. 

The much deprecated event of marching from Phila- 
delphia was not the less afflicting for having been fore- 
seen. The reader is acquainted with the attraction 
which existed there ; and it is for those alone who have 
felt the effervescence of the passions, to form a just con- 
ception of the pangs attendant on this separation from it. 
To say it was a disruption of my heart strings, would be 
a language neither too forcible nor figurative for the oc- 
casion. The other absences imposed by the demands of 
imperious duty were not without disquietude ; but they 
were cheered by the prospect of a speedy termination. 
This, before me, was a toiling sea without a shore ; 
a dreary, illimitable void : And in subjecting myself to 
the stern mandate which now forced me away, I recog- 
nise a sacrifice which imparts some merit to my poor ex- 
ertions in behalf of my country. If equal deprivations 
were sustained by others, I venture confidently to affirm, 
that, estimated by the measure of suffering, none were 
greater than my own. On account of my iate service 



AUTHOR LEAVES PHILADELPHIA. 



145 



interfering with the necessary preparations for the 
march, I had been permitted, for about a week, to defer 
the moment of exile. When no longer to be postponed, 
I took my passage in the stage, where, indifferent to all 
around me, I sat ruminating on scenes of happiness de- 
parted, cheerless and lost to every hope of their return. 
Dreams of glory, it is true, sometimes crossed my ima- 
gination, but discordant to the tone of the predominant 
passion, the images were painful, and deeply tinged with 
despair. In so desolating a frame of mind, I perceived 
the necessity of active duty, which should leave me no 
time for reflection ; and under this impression, as I ap- 
proached my place of destination, became as impatient 
for its attainment as I had been reluctant in setting out 
for it j eager to immerse myself in martial occupations, 

And in the hardy camp and toilsome march, 
Forget all softer and less manly cares. 

A considerable portion of our motley army had al- 
ready assembled in New York and its vicinity. The 
troops were chiefly from the eastern provinces ; those 
from the southern, with the exception of Hand's, 
Magaw's, and our regiment, had not yet come on. The 
appearance of things was not much calculated to excite 
sanguine expectations in the mind of a sober observer. 
Great numbers of people were indeed to be seen, and 
those who are not accustomed to the sight of bodies un- 
der arms are always prone to exaggerate them. But 
this propensity to swell the mass had not an equal ten- 
dency to convert it into soldiery ; and the irregularity, 
want of discipline, bad arms, and defective equipment in 
all respects, of this multitudinous assemblage, gave no 
favourable impression of its prowess. The materials of 

K 



146 



APPEARANCE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY-, 



which the eastern battalions were composed were appa- 
rently the same as those of which I had seen so unpro- 
mising a specimen at Lake George. I speak particular- 
ly of the officers, who were in no single respect distin- 
guishable from their men, other than in the coloured 
cockades, which, for this very purpose, had been pre- 
scribed in general orders, a different colour being assign- 
ed to the officers of each grade. So far from aiming at 
a deportment which might raise them above their privates, 
and thence prompt them to due respect and obedience 
to their commands, the object was, by humility, to pre- 
serve the existing blessing of equality ; an illustrious 
instance of which was given by Colonel Putnam, the 
chief engineer of the army, and no less a personage than 
the nephew of the major-general of that name. " What," 
says a person meeting him one day with a piece of meat 
in his hand, " carrying home your rations yourself, Co- 
lonel [" — " Yes," says he, " and I do it to set the offi- 
cers a good example." But if any aristocratic tendencies 
had been really discovered by the Colonel among his 
countrymen, requiring this wholesome example, they 
must have been of recent origin, and the effect of south- 
ern contamination, since I have been credibly informed, 
that it was no unusual thing in the army before Bos- 
ton for a colonel to make drummers and fifers of his 
sons, thereby not only being enabled to form a very 
snug economical mess, but to aid also considerably the 
revenue of the family chest. In short, it appeared, that 
the sordid spirit of gain was the vital principle of the 
greater part of the army. The only exception I recol- 
lect to have seen, to these miserably constituted bands 
from New England, was the regiment of Glover from 
Marblehead. There was an appearance of discipline in this 



CHARACTER OF THE SOLDIERS. 



corps ; the officers seemed to have mixed with the world, 
and to understand what belonged to their stations. 
Though deficient, perhaps, in polish, it possessed an ap- 
parent aptitude for the purpose of its institution, and 
gave a confidence that myriads of its meek and lowly- 
brethren were incompetent to inspire. But even in this 
regiment there were a number of negroes, which, to per- 
sons unaccustomed to such associations, had a disagree- 
able, degrading effect. 

If there were any troops here, at this time, from Jer- 
sey, I do not recollect seeing them ; and those of New 
York appeared not to be very numerous. They, how- 
ever, afforded officers, who might have been distinguish- 
ed without a badge ; and who were sufficiently men of 
the world to know that the levelling principle was, of all 
others, the most incompatible with good soldiership. Co- 
lonel Hamilton had been furnished by this province, mak- 
ing his debut in the new career as a captain of artillery ; 
but I never saw him in this capacity, and I believe he 
was soon taken into the family of the commander in chief. 
Reinforcements were yet expected from the southward. 
Among these were Miles's and Atlee's provincial regi- 
ments from Pennsylvania ; Hazlet's from Delaware, and 
Smallwood's from Maryland, both, I think, on the con- 
tinental establishment ; and, in addition, large draughts 
from the militia of Pennsylvania. All these were assem- 
bled in time for the opening of the campaign ; but al- 
though the multitude, of which they were a part, con- 
tained some excellent raw materials, and was not with- 
out officers of spirit, possessing feelings suitable to their 
situation, yet diffused throughout the mass, they were 
certainly extremely rare. The eye looked round in vain 
for the leading gentry of the country; those, most em- 



248 



ERECTION OF FORT WASHINGTON. 



phatically pledged to the cause, " by life, by fortune, and 
by sacred honour * and, taking the army in the aggre- 
gate, with its equipments along with it, he must have 
been a novice or a sanguine calculator, who could sup- 
pose it capable of sustaining the lofty tone and verbal 
energy of congress. In point of numbers merely it was 
deficient, though a fact then little known or suspected. 
Newspapers and common report, indeed, made it im- 
mensely numerous ; and it was represented that General 
Washington had ^so many men, that he wanted no more, 
and had actually sent many home as superfluous. It is 
true, there were men enough coming and going ; yet his 
letters of that day demonstrate how truly weak he was 
in steady permanent soldiers. 

It was, probably, between the twentieth and twenty- 
fifth of June that I arrived in this busy scene ; in a few 
days after which, our regiment and Magaw's were march- 
ed towards Kingsbridge, and encamped upon the 
ground on which Fort Washington was erected. We 
w T ere here under the command of General Mifflin, and 
immediately employed in the construction of that fort- 
ress, under the direction of Colonel Putnam, who, as al- 
ready mentioned, was our principal engineer ; and, con- 
sidering his want of experience, not destitute, perhaps, of 
merit in his profession. As a man may be a rhetorician, 
or a logician, though unacquainted with the terms of the 
art ; so might Mr Putnam have been a good practical art- 



* Congress, to be sure, were privileged ; and there must be civil 
functions as well as military. But these were a good deal a matter 
of choice ; and as the war was a common cause, the very creature 
of association, its rubs should have been somewhat equalized. — 
Thoughts of this kind, however, would sometimes intrude into 
minds soured by hard duty. 



ERECTION OF FORT WASHINGTON. 



149 



ist, though misterming the Gorge the George. But this 
was merely a mistake in pronunciation ; and I will not 
permit myself to question, that he had real science enough 
to have smelt out Moliere's jest about a demi-lune, and a 
lune toute entiere. 

In the course of some weeks, our labours had produ- 
ced immense mounds of earth, assuming a pentagonal 
form, and finally issuing in a fort of five bastions. As 
Cassar, in his operations, has been said to have made 
great use of the spade, I shall not insist upon the irnpro- 
bu$ labor being beneath the dignity of a soldier ; but 
certain it is, that we then thought it so, and that the 
continual fatigue-duty we were subjected to was not on- 
ly extremely irksome, but unfavourable also to our im- 
provement in tactics, which, nevertheless, was assiduous- 
ly attended to. - The perpetual clouds of dust which the 
dry weather of the season occasioned gave us the ap- 
pearance of scavengers ; a circumstance sadly at vari- 
ance with the neatness of person inculcated by Colonel 
Shee, and of which he Was an enthusiastic admirer ; it 
made our duty also extremely severe, and gave me an 
inflammation in my eyes, which was the only indisposir 
tion I experienced during the campaign. Sickness, 
however, on the approach of fall, prevailed among our 
men to a great degree ; and little more than half our 
number was, at any time, fit for duty. Thus, without 
fighting, are armies " sluggishly melted away." 

One of the chief objects in building Fort Washington 
is understood to have been, to prevent the enemy pas- 
sing up the Hudson, on whose eastern bank it stood, on 
very commanding ground. On the opposite side of the 
river, Fort Lee, in the same view, was afterwards erect- 
ed, and these, with the sinking of some hulks in the 



150 FORT LEE INSUFFICIENT AS A DEFENCE. 

channel, were expected, or at least hoped, to be suffi- 
cient for the purpose. But the inefficacy of these im- 
pediments was soon evinced by two frigates, that, taking 
advantage of a favourable wind, sailed by us with great 
gallantry, in English phrase, returning our fire in great 
style. We were too high for their guns to be brought 
to bear upon us with any certainty, though one ball was 
thrown into the fort. Our elevated situation was near- 
ly as unfavourable to the success of our fire upon them ; 
to remedy which, in future, a battery was constructed 
below, in a very advantageous position. But this was 
attended with no better effect, as two other frigates, not 
long after, passed in defiance of the guns of both bat- 
teries, and apparently without having sustained the 
slightest injury. I afterwards learned, however, when 
prisoner in New York, that, upon one of these occasions, 
one of the frigates had been hulled, and some men kill- 
ed and wounded, among the latter a midshipman, a son 
of Mr Courtland Skinner, of Amboy, lost his arm. 

To have been regular, I should have mentioned the 
arrival of the hostile forces, and their occupancy of Sta- 
ten Island, as a preparatory station. From the un- 
certainty in what quarter they might invade us, the 
utmost vigilance was inculcated everywhere, and ob- 
served at our post. The lines were manned every morn- 
ing an hour before daylight ; we were several times 
formed for action, and once marched to Bloomingdale 
in fall expectation of meeting the enemy, who, it was 
confidently asserted, had made good a landing there, or 
in the neighbourhood. The intelligence proved untrue, 
if such, indeed, had been received. But it is not impro- 
bable that it was merely a contrivance of General Mifflin, 
to inure us to alarms, and render us alert, objects that, to 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL MIFFLIN. 



151 



a certain extent, were not without utility ; but the Ge- 
neral was a bustler, who harassed us unnecessarily ; and, 
considering the unavoidable severity of our duty, to the 
real injury of the health of the troops. His manners 
were better adapted to attract popularity than to preserve 
it. Highly animated in his appearance, and possessing, 
in an eminent degree, the talent of haranguing a multi- 
tude, his services, in giving motion to the militia, were 
several times, in the course of the war, felt and acknow- 
ledged ; but, that he was equally calculated to keep alive 
military ardour and confidence, cannot be affirmed. He 
was full of activity, and apparently of fire ; but it rather 
resembled the transient blaze of light combustibles, than 
the constant steady flame of substantial fuel ; though, 
in saying this, it should be mentioned, that I have no 
ground to insinuate that his fortitude was not equal to 
any demand that might have been made upon it. He 
assumed a little of the veteran, from having lain before 
Boston 5 was very fond of telling us that he would bring 
us into a scrape ; and it must be confessed, that he was 
considerably happy in the display of that apathy to hu- 
man carnage which is affected by great commanders, in 
the spirit of which the great Frederick tells us, that, 
ff When sovereigns play for provinces, the lives of men 
are but as counters." So much 'tis better to direct the 
game than be a component part of its machinery ! But 
whatever might have been Mifflin's deficiencies, he had 
many qualifications for his station that too many others, 
placed in higher ones, wanted. He was a man of educa- 
tion, ready apprehension, and brilliancy ; had spent some 
time in Europe, particularly in France ; and was very 
easy of access, with the manners of genteel life, though 
occasionally evolving those of the Quaker. In delineat- 



152 



AN ODD CHARACTER. 



ing both men and events, my object is truth ; otherwise 
the friendly attention I never failed to receive from this 
gentleman might have led me into a strain of less quali- 
fied encomium. 

The first frigates that passed us took their station in 
Tappan Sea, where an attempt was made to set them on 
fire. It failed as to the larger vessels, but a tender was 
destroyed. One of the persons who embarked in this 
service as a volunteer was the surgeon's mate of our re- 
giment, a singular character, and degenerate son of Mor- 
decai Yarnall, a Quaker preacher. I w 7 as amused with 
his oddities, and sometimes listened to his imitations of 
his father's manner of preaching, as well as that of many 
others of the public friends. Though a temporary apos- 
tate from the principles of his forefathers, in which he 
had been strictly brought up, I never doubted that they 
had taken root in him ; and that, if he was not prema- 
turely cut off, they would vegetate and fructify in due 
season : nor was I mistaken. Many years after, I saw 
him zealously sustaining his paternal vocation, surround- 
ed by a circle of friends. He had come to preach in the 
town in which I resided : I went to hear him, and had 
the pleasure of taking him home with me to dinner with 
several of his attendants, where every thing passed with 
as much gravity and decorum, as if I had never seen him 
in any other character. Mr Yarnall's former profane- 
ness could not but have occurred to him on this occasion ; 
but whatever might have been his recollections, he dis- 
sembled them admirably. 

Among the military phenomena of this campaign, the 
Connecticut light horse ought not to be forgotten. These 
consisted of a considerable number of old-fashioned men, 
probably farmers and heads of families, as they were ge- 



CONNECTICUT LIGHT HORSE. 



153 



neraily middle-aged, and many of them apparently be- 
yond the meridian of life. They were truly irregulars ; 
and whether their clothing, their equipments, or capari- 
sons were regarded, it would have been difficult to have 
discovered any circumstance of uniformity ; though in 
the features derived from " local habitation," they were 
one and the same. Instead of carbines and sabres, they 
generally carried fowling-pieces ; some of them very 
long, and such as in Pennsylvania are used for shooting 
ducks. Here and there, one, " his youthful garments 
well saved," appeared in a dingy regimental of scarlet, 
with a triangular, tarnished, laced hat. In short, so 
little were they like modern soldiers, in air or costume, 
that, dropping the necessary number of years, they might 
have been supposed the identical men who had in part 
composed Pepperil's army at the taking of Louisbourg. 
Their order of inarch corresponded with their other ir- 
regularities. It "spindled into longitude immense," 
presenting so extended and ill-compacted a flank, as 
though they had disdained the adventitious prowess de- 
rived from concentration. These singular dragoons were 
volunteers, who came to make a tender of their services 
to the commander-in-chief. But they staid not long at 
New York. As such a body of cavalry had not been 
counted upon, there was, in all probability, a want of fo- 
rage for their jades, which, in the spirit of ancient knight- 
hood, they absolutely refused to descend from ; and as 
the general had no use for cavaliers in his insular opera- 
tions, they were forthwith dismissed with suitable ac- 
knowledgments for their truly chivalrous ardour. * An 



* It appears from a letter of General Washington, that they re- 
fused fatigue-duty, because it was beneath the dignity of troopers. 



154 



CHARACTER OF AMERICAN ARMY. 



unlucky trooper of this school had, by some means or 
other, found his way to Long Island, and was taken by 
the enemy in the battle of the 27th of August. The 
British officers made themselves very merry at his ex- 
pence, and obliged him to amble about for their enter- 
tainment. On being asked, what had been his duty in 
the rebel army, he answered, that it was to flank a little, 
and carry tidings. Such, at least, was the story at New 
York among the prisoners. 

But notwithstanding the unwarlike guise of the troops 
from New England, there was no part of the continent, 
perhaps, in which so little impression could be made, or 
in which the enemy was so cautious of advancing. Their 
numbers and zeal rendered them formidable when fight- 
ing on their own ground pro aris et focis ; and pitiful 
as was the figure the eastern men made this campaign, 
the defence of Bunker's Hill was worthy of the bravest 
veterans. I attempt not to assign a cause for the falling 
off; and should even be fearful of recognising it, were 
there not documents in existence, and hundreds yet alive 
to attest the truth of my representations. I have in vain 
endeavoured to account for the very few gentlemen and 
men of the world that, at this time, appeared in arms 
from this country, which might be considered as the cra- 
dle of the revolution. There were some, indeed, in the 
higher ranks ; and here and there a young man of de- 
cent breeding, in the capacity of an aid- de-camp or bri- 
gade-major ; but any thing above the condition of a 
clown, in the regiments we came in contact with, was 
truly a rarity. Was it, that the cause was only popular 
among the yeomanry ? Was it, that men of fortune and 
condition there, as in other parts of the continent, though 
evidently most interested in a contest, whose object was 



CHARACTER OF AMERICAN ARMT. 



155 



to rescue American property from the grasp of British 
avidity, were willing to devolve the fighting business on 
the poorer and humbler classes ? Was it, in short, that 
they held the language of the world, and said, 

Let the gull'd fools the toils of war subdue, 
Where bleed the many to enrich the few ? 

Or was it, that that simple way of thinking, and ill ap- 
preciation of military talent, which had made a drivelling 
deacon * second in command, was then prevalent among 
them ? Whatever was the reason, New England was far 
behind the other provinces in the display of an ardent, 
unequivocal zeal for the cause, in the quality of her offi- 
cers - y and notwithstanding that she has since shown her- 
self more prolific of liberal, well-informed, exigent men, 
than any other part of the union, her soldiery, at the 
time I am speaking of, was contemptible in the extreme. 

Neither did the fighting department appear to be fa- 
shionable among the gentry of Virginia. It must be ad- 
mitted that she furnished some gentlemen aid-de-camps 
and volunteers, and afterwards corps of cavalry, respect- 
ably officered ; but the serious, drudging business of 
war devolves on the infantry ; and in this description 
of force she evinced but little brilliancy. One of her 
regiments, I recollect, did duty with us when we were 
encamped on Haerlem Heights. Its commander had the 
appearance of a reputable planter, and might, for any 
thing I know to the contrary, have been both patriotic 



* This was General Ward, with whose resignation and that of 
Brigadier Fry, General Washington makes himself merry in a let- 
ter to General Lee, published in the memoirs of the latter. So 
little does the character of the time appear to be known at present, 
that I deem it necessary to fortify my remarks. 



156 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



and brave ; but neither himself nor his officers were of 
the kind that bespoke the elite of their country : they 
were not in the style of their vocation ; in a word, they 
were not Baylors, nor Griffins, nor Lees, nor Monroes. 
But allowing every possible merit to these gentlemen, it 
does not lessen the force of my observation in respect to 
their state, of whose subsequent exertions I am ignorant. 

Among the mistakes of my life, in a view to advance- 
ment, I may justly reckon my not essaying the aid-de- 
camp career. To the rank and pay of major, which 
followed the appointment, an exemption from hard duty 
immediately took place, and the fortunate incumbents 
had cause to hug themselves in a world of other plea- 
sant consequences. They, comparatively, fed well and 
slept well y used horses' legs instead of their own upon 
a march ; and were, besides, in the true road to prefer- 
ment. The late General Walter Stewart was a young- 
er captain than myself, in the same regiment. But he 
chose the better path I allude to : in doing so, he escap- 
ed captivity, was warmly recommended to congress by 
his General, and complimented with a regiment, while 
his elder officers were languishing in captivity, neglected, 
superseded, and forgotten. Captain Scull, also of our 
regiment, had attached himself to General Thomson - 7 
and the colonels fearing they should lose more of us, 
were assiduous in representing the employment of an 
aid, as not only unworthy of a man of spirit, but as 
being out of the line of promotion : in the latter, at 
least, they were egregiously mistaken. 

The declaration of independence, whose date will 
never be forgotten so long as liberty remains the fa- 
shion, and demagogues continue to thrive upon it, was, 
with the utmost speed, transmitted to the armies j and, 



STATUE OF GEORGE III. DEMOLISHED. 



157 



when received, read to the respective regiments. If it 
was not embraced with all the enthusiasm that has been 
ascribed to the event, it was, at least, hailed with accla- 
mations, as, no doubt, any other act of congress, not 
flagrantly improper, would at that time have been. 
The propriety of the measure had been little canvassed 
among us ; and perhaps it was to our honour, consider- 
ed merely as soldiers, that we were so little of politi- 
cians. A predilection for republicanism, it is true, had 
not reached the army, at least the Pennsylvania line ; 
but as an attempt to negotiate, in our unorganized situa- 
tion, would probably have divided and ruined us, the 
step was considered wise, although a passage of the Ru- 
bicon, and calculated to close the door to accommodation. 
Being looked upon as unavoidable, if resistance was to 
be persisted in, it was approved ; and produced no re- 
signations among the officers that I am aware of, except 
that of Lieutenant-Colonel William Allen, already men- 
tioned, who was with his regiment in Canada. He 
called at our camp on his way to Philadelphia, where he 
appeared somewhat surprised and mortified, that his ex- 
ample had no followers. 

Being now independent, we had no further use for a 
king, or even the semblance of one ; for which reason, 
the equestrian statue of George the Third in New 
York was thrown down and demolished. The head of 
the king was cut off by way of inflaming the public va- 
lour : but so little was the spirit of seventy-six like the 
spirit of subsequent eras, that the act was received with 
extreme coldness and indifference. Had even George 
himself been among us, he would have been in no great 
danger of personal injury, at least from the army. We 
were, indeed, beginning to grow angry with him ; and 



158 



BRITISH LAND ON LONG ISLAND. 



were not displeased with Paine for calling him a Royal 
brute, but we had not yet acquired the true taste for 
cutting throats. 

The suspense in which we had for many weeks been 
held, in respect to the meditated operations of the ene- 
my, was at length removed by the landing of a consi- 
derable force on the 22d of August on Long Island. 
Among the measures taken to counteract him, handbills 
addressed to the German troops, inviting desertion by a 
promise of land, were prepared by congress, and en- 
deavoured to be circulated among them. For this bu- 
siness, Christopher Ludwig, a baker of Philadelphia, 
was, among others, selected. As he was a German, and 
had been a soldier in his younger days, he was supposed 
to be peculiarly fitted for the purpose. Full of zeal for 
the cause, he was already at his post, and was bold 
enough to undertake the perilous employment ; but 
whether he ventured himself in the enemy's camp, I 
never learned. I rather suspect he was shy, as he well 
knew the penalty of detection in such an enterprise. 
At any rate, the overtures had no effect : no deserters 
came over to us. This Ludwig, though far advanced 
in years, could yet play the old soldier with much ad- 
dress, and thence contrived to make himself conspicuous. 
Being employed some time after to manage the ovens, 
he assumed the title of Baker Master-General of the 
Army, and made a vow never to shave his beard until 
a fortunate conclusion of the contest. It is a little 
remarkable, that the patriotism of the baker-general 
should have displayed itself in the same manner as that 
of Cato did, during the civil war of Rome, who, as we 
are informed by Lucan, neither shaved nor combed his 
hair. 

10 



ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICANS. 159 

Ut primum tolli feralia viderat arma, 
Intonsos rigidam in frontem descendere canos 
Passus erat, moestamque genis increscere barbam. 

For when he saw the fatal factions arm, 

The coming war, and Rome's impending harm ; 

Regardless quite of every other care, 

Unshorn he left his loose neglected hair, 

Rude hung the hoary honours of his head, 

And a foul growth his mournful cheeks o'erspread. 

The forces of the enemy which had been landed on 
Long Island had extended themselves as far as Flat- 
bush and New Lots, between which places and our 
works at Brooklyn runs a ridge of pretty lofty hills. 
Here it was, that, being met by our troops, under the 
command of Generals Sullivan and Stirling, the action 
of the 27th of August commenced ; of which, as I was 
not present, 1 know nothing more than is given in 
the historical accounts of this affair. The manifest su- 
periority of the enemy on this occasion, owing more to 
mismanagement, perhaps, on our side, than want of bra- 
very in the troops engaged, rendered it expedient to 
draw our forces to the point that had been chosen for 
the contest ; and an express was accordingly sent off, re- 
quiring the immediate march of Shee's and Magaw's re- 
giments to New York. Being forthwith put in motion, 
we proceeded with the utmost speed, and reached the 
city in the afternoon : but, by this time, the conflict 
was over, and the firing had ceased. Here, therefore, 
we were quartered for the night, under orders to be in 
readiness to cross the East river, by break of day, in the 
morning. Glover's regiment was also moved to this 
place, and was under similar orders for Long Island. 
Few particulars of the day's combat were yet known, 
though it was pretty well ascertained that we had been 



158 



BRITISH LAND ON LONG ISLAND. 



were not displeased with Paine for calling him a Royal 
brute, but we had not yet acquired the true taste for 
cutting throats. 

The suspense in which we had for many weeks been 
held, in respect to the meditated operations of the ene- 
my, was at length removed by the landing of a consi- 
derable force on the 22d of August on Long Island. 
Among the measures taken to counteract him, handbills 
addressed to the German troops, inviting desertion by a 
promise of land, were prepared by congress, and en- 
deavoured to be circulated among them. For this bu- 
siness, Christopher Ludwig, a baker of Philadelphia, 
was, among others, selected. As he was a German, and 
had been a soldier in his younger days, he was supposed 
to be peculiarly fitted for the purpose. Full of zeal for 
the cause, he was already at his post, and was bold 
enough to undertake the perilous employment ; but 
whether he ventured himself in the enemy's camp, I 
never learned. I rather suspect he was shy, as he well 
knew the penalty of detection in such an enterprise. 
At any rate, the overtures had no effect : no deserters 
came over to us. This Ludwig, though far advanced 
in years, could yet play the old soldier with much ad- 
dress, and thence contrived to make himself conspicuous. 
Being employed some time after to manage the ovens, 
he assumed the title of Baker Master-General of the 
Army, and made a vow never to shave his beard until 
a fortunate conclusion of the contest. It is a little 
remarkable, that the patriotism of the baker-general 
should have displayed itself in the same manner as that 
of Cato did, during the civil war of Rome, who, as we 
are informed by Lucan, neither shaved nor combed his 
hair. 

10 



ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICANS. 159 

Ut primum tolli feralia viderat arma, 
Intonsos rigidam in frontem descendere canos 
Passus erat, mcestamque genis increscere barbam. 

For when he saw the fatal factions arm, 

The coming war, and Rome's impending harm ; 

Regardless quite of every other care, 

Unshorn he left his loose neglected hair, 

Rude hung the hoary honours of his head, 

And a foul growth his mournful cheeks o'erspread. 

The forces of the enemy which had been landed on 
Long Island had extended themselves as far as Flat- 
bush and New Lots, between which places and our 
works at Brooklyn runs a ridge of pretty lofty hills. 
Here it was, that, being met by our troops, under the 
command of Generals Sullivan and Stirling, the action 
of the 27th of August commenced ; of which, as I was 
not present, 1 know nothing more than is given in 
the historical accounts of this affair. The manifest su- 
periority of the enemy on this occasion, owing more to 
mismanagement, perhaps, on our side, than want of bra- 
very in the troops engaged, rendered it expedient to 
draw our forces to the point that had been chosen for 
the contest ; and an express was accordingly sent off, re- 
quiring the immediate march of Shee's and Magaw's re- 
giments to New York. Being forthwith put in motion, 
we proceeded with the utmost speed, and reached the 
city in the afternoon : but, by this time, the conflict 
was over, and the firing had ceased. Here, therefore, 
we were quartered for the night, under orders to be in 
readiness to cross the East river, by break of day, in the 
morning. Glover's regiment was also moved to this 
place, and was under similar orders for Long Island. 
Few particulars of the day's combat were yet known, 
though it was pretty well ascertained that we had been 



160 NEW YORK—PRIVATIONS OF SOLDIERS. 

handled severely, and lost a considerable number of 
officers and men ; but what proportion had been killed, 
or were prisoners, was merely conjecture. New York 
was, at this time, a scene of tumult and confusion, and, it 
might be added, of dismay. 

The circumstance, however, did not deprive me of 
my appetite, and the inclination for a good supper, 
which I had not for some months enjoyed ; and, there- 
fore, as soon as our men were dismissed to their quar- 
ters, which was not until dark, Mr Forrest and myself 
set out in pursuit of this object. But some of the pub- 
lic houses were full, others had no eatables in them, and 
we began to fear, that this little enjoyment we had pro- 
mised ourselves was not to be obtained, and that we 
should be obliged to go to bed supperless. After trying 
the best looking inns to no purpose, we essayed those of 
more humble appearance, and at length entered one 
that was kept by a middle-aged matronly lady. We 
asked if she could give us supper ; she gave us the com- 
mon answer, that there was nothing in the house. We 
were now about to give the matter up, and had retired 
beyond the door, with somewhat of a disconsolate air, 
perhaps, when the good woman seemed touched with 
compassion for us. She had probably sons of her own 5 
or if not, she was of that sex which, Ledyard tells us, 
is ever prone to acts of kindness and humanity. She 
called us back, and told us, that she believed she could 
make out to give us a lobster. At this we brightened 
up, assuring her, as we really thought, that nothing 
could be better : and being shown into a small, snug a- 
partment, we called for a pint of wine. We now 
thought ourselves, instead of outcasts, favourites of for- 
tune, as, upon comparing notes with our brother officers, 



NEW YORK — PRIVATIONS OF SOLDIERS, 161 

next day, we found we had reason, since scarcely one of 
them had been able to procure a mouthful. Our lob- 
ster being quickly served up, we fell to with most ex- 
cellent appetites, and between it and our wine entirely 
forgot our toils, most fervently realizing the sentiment 
of the song, that a bottle and kind landlady cure all 
again. 

On the next day, early in the forenoon, we were 
transported to Long Island ; marched down to the en- 
trenchments at Brooklyn, and posted on their left ex- 
tremity, extending to the Wallabout. The arrival of 
our two battalions, (Shee's and Magaw's, which always 
acted together,) with that of Glover, had the effect, I 
have always found to be produced, by a body of men 
under arms, having the appearance of discipline. Al- 
though, owing to the dysentery which had prevailed in 
our camp, our number was so reduced, that the two re- 
giments could not have amounted to more than eight 
hundred men, making in the whole, when joined with 
Glover's, about twelve or thirteen hundred ; yet it was 
evident that this small reinforcement inspired no in- 
considerable degree of confidence. The faces that had 
been saddened by the disasters of yesterday assumed 
a gleam of animation on our approach ; accompanied 
with a murmur of approbation in the spectators, occa- 
sionally greeting each other with the remark, that these 
were the lads that might do something. Why it should 
be so, I know not, but the mind instinctively attaches 
an idea of prowess to the silence, steadiness, and regu- 
larity of a military assemblage; and an hundred well dress- 
ed, well armed, and well disciplined grenadiers, are more 
formidable in appearance than a disjointed, disorderly 
multitude of a thousand. Our regiments, to be sure, could 

L 



162 



LONG ISLAND ENTRENCHMENTS. 



not arrogate such perfection ; but that they were dis- 
tinguished in our young army, may be inferred from an 
official letter from General Washington, wherein he states, 
that " they had been trained with more than common at- 
tention. " To sustain the duty now imposed upon us, 
required both strength of body and of mind. The spot 
at which we were posted was low and unfavourable for 
defence. There was a Jraised ditch in its front, but it 
gave little promise of security, as it was evidently com- 
manded by the ground occupied by the enemy, who en- 
tirely enclosed the whole of our position, at the distance 
of but a few hundred paces. It was evident, also, that 
they were constructing batteries, which would have ren- 
dered our particular situation extremely ineligible, to say 
the least of it. In addition to this discomfort, we were 
annoyed by a continual rain, which, though never very 
heavy, was never less than a searching drizzle, and often 
what might, with propriety, be called a smart shower. 
We had no tents to screen us from its pitiless pelting ; 
nor, if we had had them, would it have comported with 
the incessant vigilance required, to have availed ourselves 
of them, as, in fact, it might be said, that we lay upon 
our arms during the whole of our stay upon the island. 
In the article of food, we were little better off. We had, 
indeed, drawn provisions, whose quality was not to be 
complained of. Our pickled pork, at least, was good ; 
but how were we to cook it? As this could not be 
done, it was either to be eaten as it was, or not eaten at 
all ; and we found upon trial, that boiling it, although 
desirable, was not absolutely necessary ; and that the 
article was esculent without culinary preparation. I re- 
member, however, on one of the days we were in this 
joyless place, getting a slice of a barbacued pig, which 



SKIRMISHING A BATTLE APPREHENDED. 



163 



some of our soldiers had dressed at a deserted house 
which bounded our lines. 

There was an incessant skirmishing kept up in the 
day time between our riflemen and the enemy's irregu- 
lars ; and the firing was sometimes so brisk, as to indi- 
cate an approaching general engagement. This was 
judiciously encouraged by General Washington, as it 
tended to restore confidence to our men, and was, be- 
sides, showing a good countenance to the foe. 

On the morning after our first night's watch, Colonel 
Shee took me aside, and asked me what I thought cf 
our situation. I could not but say I thought it a very 
discouraging one. He viewed it in the same light, he 
said, and added, that, if we were not soon withdrawn 
from it, we should inevitably be cut to pieces. So im- 
pressed was he with this conviction, that he desired me 
to go to the quarters of General Reed, and to request 
him to ride down to the lines, that he might urge him 
to propose a retreat without loss of time. I went, but 
could not find him at his quarters, or at any of the other 
places where it was likely he might be. It was not 
long, however, before he came to our station, and gave 
the colonel an opportunity of conferring with him. 
This day passed off like the last, in unabating skirmish- 
ing and rain. After dark, orders were received, and 
communicated to us regimentally, to hold ourselves in 
readiness for an attack upon the enemy, to take place in 
the course of the night. This excited much specula- 
tion among the officers, by whom it was considered a 
truly daring undertaking, rendered doubly so from the 
bad condition of our arms, so long exposed to the rain : 
and although we had bayonets, this was not the case 
with the whole of our force, upon whom we must depend 



164 



MIDNIGHT SCENE IN CAMP. 



for support. It was not for us, however, to object to the 
measure : we were soldiers and bound to obey. Seve- 
ral nuncupative wills were made upon the occasion, un- 
certain as it was, whether the persons to whom they 
were communicated would survive, either to prove or to 
execute them. I was for a while under the impression 
that we were to fight ; and, in the language of the poet, 
was " stiffening my sinews and summoning up my 
blood," for what, with the rest, I deemed a desperate 
encounter. But when I came to consider the extreme 
rashness of such an attempt, it suddenly flashed upon my 
mind, that a retreat was the object ; and that the order 
for assailing the enemy was but a cover to the real de- 
sign. The more I reflected upon it, the more I was 
convinced that I was right ; and what had passed in 
the morning with Colonel Shee, served to confirm me 
in my opinion. I communicated my conjecture to some 
of the officers, but they dared not suffer themselves to 
believe it well founded, though they gradually came 
over to my opinion ; and by midnight they were, for the 
most part, converts to it. There was a deep murmur 
in the camp which indicated some movement ; and the 
direction of the decaying sounds was evidently towards 
the river. About two o'clock a cannon went off, ap- 
parently from one of our redoubts, " piercing the night's 
dull ear," with a tremendous roar. If the explosion 
was within our lines, the gun was probably discharged 
in the act of spiking it ; and it could have been no less a 
matter of speculation to the enemy than to ourselves. I 
never heard the cause of it ; but whatever it was, the 
effect was at once alarming and sublime ; and what with 
the greatness of the stake, the darkness of the night, the 
uncertainty of the design, and extreme hazard of the issue, 



AMERICANS RETREAT TO NEW YORK. 



165 



whatever might be the object, it would be difficult to con- 
ceive a more deeply solemn and interesting scene. It 
never recurs to my mind, but in the strong imagery of 
the chorus of Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth, in which 
is arrayed, in appropriate gloom, a similar interval of 
dread suspense and awful expectation. 

As our regiment was one of those appointed to cover 
the retreat, we were, of course, among the last to be 
drawn off, and it was near day -break before we received 
orders to retire. We were formed without delay, and 
had marched near half-way to the river, when it was an- 
nounced that the British light horse were at our heels* 
Improbable as was the circumstance, it was yet so stre- 
nuously insisted upon, that we were halted and formed, 
the front rank kneeling with presented pikes, which we 
had with us, to receive the charge of the supposed assail*, 
ants. None, however, appeared ; and the alarm must 
have proceeded from the fear of those who gave it, mag- 
nifying the noise of a few of our own horsemen into that 
of squadrons of the enemy. We again took up the line 
of march, and had proceeded but a short distance, when 
the head of the battalion was halted a second time. The 
orders we had received were erroneous : We were in- 
formed that we had come off too soon, and were com- 
manded with all expedition to return to our post.* This 
was a trying business to young soldiers ; it was neverthe- 
less strictly complied with, and we remained not less 
than an hour in the lines before we received the second 
order to abandon them. It may be supposed we did not 



* This is stated in Gordon's History, Vol. II. p. 103, to have 
been owing to a mistake of Colonel Scammel, who delivered the 
orders to General Mifflin to bring off the whole covering party, in* 
stead of a particular regiment. 



166 



AMERICANS RETREAT TO NEW YORK. 



linger ; but though we moved with celerity, we guarded 
against confusion, and under the friendly cover of a thick 
fog, reached the place of embarkation without annoyance 
from the enemy, who, had the morning been clear, 
would have seen what was going on, and been enabled to 
cut off the greater part of the rear. One of my soldiers 
being too feeble to carry his musket, which was too pre- 
cious to be thrown away, I took it from him > and found 
myself able to carry it, together with my own fusee. On 
attaining the water, I found a boat prepared for my com- 
pany, which immediately embarked, and taking the helm 
myself, I so luckily directed the prow, no object being 
discernible in the fog, that we touched near the centre 
of the city. It was between six and seven o'clock, per- 
haps later, when we landed at New York ; and in less 
than an hour after, the fog having dispersed, the enemy 
was visible on the shore we had left. 

Next to the merit of avoiding a scrape in war, is that 
of a dexterous extrication from it ; and in this view, the 
removal of so great a number of men, stated, I think, at 
nine thousand, with cannon and stores, in one night, 
was, no doubt, a masterly movement, though not classible, 
perhaps, with the great retreats. The Memoirs of the 
Duke of Sully relate an operation very similar to it, 
and to which much applause is given. This was achiev- 
ed by the Prince of Parma, whose army, lying between 
Rouen and Caudebec, was in the night transported 
across the Seine, and thus preserved from the destruc- 
tion that impended from the forces of Henry IV. ready 
to fall upon it in the morning. " Could it appear other- 
wise," observes the writer, " than a fable or an illusion ? 
Scarce could the king and his army trust the evidence of 
their own eyes." 



REFLECTIONS ON THE MEASURE. 



167 



After a comfortable breakfast, which I got at the cof- 
feehouse, I met with Colonel Melchior of the commis- 
sary department. Being one of my old and particular 
Philadelphia acquaintances, he offered me his bed, to re- 
pair my want of rest. I had not slept for two nights ; 
and as my brother, a lad of about nineteen, and an en- 
sign in the regiment, had undergone the same fatigue, I 
took him along with me, and locking the door of the 
apartment to exclude intruders, we snatched a refreshing 
nap of five or six hours ; after which we felt ourselves 
alert and ready for the further tasks which duty might 
impose. 

General Washington has been censured for risking 
his army upon Long Island, and General Howe for per- 
mitting it to escape with impunity. Reasoning from 
the facts which have evolved, the blame in both cases 
seems to be well founded. But this is not the mode of 
judging contingent events. In conducting the war on 
our side, a great variety of interests was to be consulted. 
Our cities were, if possible, to be maintained, and no 
property to be sacrificed without the most manifest ne- 
cessity, lest it might create disgust and disaffection. 
Congress, also, was to be obeyed ; in which body, no 
doubt, there was enough of local feeling. Hence, New 
York must be defended ; and if so, there was nothing 
wrong in risking an action on Long Island ; it was even 
better than awaiting it in the city. Add to this, that 
the combatants had not yet measured arms with each 
other ; and General Washington was not without ground 
for hope, that his troops would prove equal to the inva- 
ders. He knew the British were not invincible. He 
had even seen them panic-struck under Braddock and 
Dunbar, and was aware of their having been staggered 



168 general Washington's conduct vindicated. 

by a handful of irregulars at Bunker's Hill. But it is 
sufficient for his exculpation, that the necessity of at- 
tempting the defence of New York was too imperious to 
be dispensed with. Otherwise, there can be no ques- 
tion, that, with the unpromising army he commanded, 
he should have been extremely cautious of committing 
himself in insular posts. No general will, of choice, con- 
vert his army into a garrison, and invite a siege. Had 
this been done at New York, General Howe, by block- 
ading it, would soon have reduced us to the necessity of 
starving, surrendering, or fighting our way out again. 
A few batteries and redoubts do not render a place ca- 
pable of sustaining a siege ; or had he preferred an as- 
sault, what fortifications were there to justify the asser- 
tion, that it was tenable for a single day? 

As to General Howe, I have scarce a doubt that he 
might have carried the entrenchments at Brooklyn, and 
cut off the troops posted there. Even, without intercept- 
ing, with his ships of war, the passage of East river, the 
retreat across it would have been sufficiently difficult 
and tardy, to have rendered the loss of much the greater 
portion of our army inevitable. That the works would 
have been well defended, and cost him a great many men, 
can neither be affirmed nor denied. The feelings of 
raw troops are too uncertain to be calculated upon ; and 
considering what had recently happened, it is rather to 
be presumed, that the defence would not have been ob- 
stinate. But General Howe, it should be remembered, 
was yet a stranger to our circumstances and the charac- 
ter of our force. Though he had just vanquished a 
part of it in the open field, the remainder was behind 
entrenchments, supported by redoubts ; and he had 
cause for being cautious from what had happened at 



GENERAL HOWE— CONDUCT OF THE BRITISH. 169 

Bunker's Hill. Besides, he probably reasoned as we at 
first did, that our losses might be more easily supplied 
than his own ; and from the boldness of Congress in de- 
claring independence in defiance of the concentrated 
power of Britain, he had certainly grounds to conclude, 
that their resources were great, and their army extreme- 
ly numerous. In addition to these considerations he 
had no reason to calculate on our precipitate retreat. 
He was preparing to attack us under the cover of batte- 
ries ; and, in that case, might have been enabled to de- 
stroy the rear of our force with little loss to himself. 
It must, however, be admitted, that the character of Sir 
William's generalship rather savoured of caution than 
enterprise. 



170 



NEW YORK ABANDONED, 



CHAPTER VII. 

Americans abandon New York, and take Post at Fort Wash' 
ington — Character of' American Officers — Promotions — 
The Post at Fort Washington threatened — Summoned by 
General Howe — The Americans attacked and retire — 
Account of the Engagement. 

On the thirty-first of August, the day after the re- 
treat from Long Island, we inarched beyond Kings- 
bridge towards the Sound, and, crossing the Brunx, 
encamped about eighteen or twenty miles from the city 
of New York. I say encamped, though, in fact, we had 
no canopy but the sky, and nothing between our bodies 
and the earth but the clothes we had on, and the blan- 
ket which each of us carried along with him. We 
might, however, have lodged comfortably on the green 
sward, had not the imaginations of some of our party 
been still haunted by light horse ; an alarm having been 
given in the night, whether in jest or earnest, I cannot 
say, that they had assailed us again. But it turned out 
to be nothing more than the scampering of a few colts, 
that were probably equally alarmed at seeing so many 
two-legged intruders extended on their feeding grounds. 

My memory does not enable me to say how long we 
remained at this place ; but I recollect we were soon 
joined by a portion of the army, among which was the 
regiment of Hazlet from Delaware. When the post 



AMERICAN ARMY LEAVE NE\V YORK. 



171 



was sufficiently strengthened to observe the motions of 
the enemy hovering in the Sound, and threatening the 
country about Frogs Point, we retook our old ground at 
Fort Washington. While here, we acted in detach- 
ment at Morrisania, then menaced by a body of the 
British, which had been thrown into Buchanan's and 
Montezore's Islands, lying in the mouth of Haerlem 
river, within two hundred or an hundred and fifty 
yards of the main land. I recollect, at least, that their 
centinels appeared to be within gunshot, and that one 
day I had considerable difficulty in restraining Captain 
Miller of Magaw's regiment, who carried a rifle, from 
shooting one of them, which he had no doubt he could 
do. This was a kind of warfare which appeared to me 
both cruel and useless ; and I reprobated it so earnest- 
ly, that, for this time, I turned Miller from his purpose. 
But the carrying a rifle is too apt to create an appetite 
for the savage mode of warfare which does its work in 
concealment ; and makes a merit of destroying the ene- 
my whenever and wherever he may be found. 

At the time of these movements, the main army very 
improperly still lingered at New York. There cannot re- 
main a doubt, that this city should have been evacuated, 
as soon as possible, after the quitting of Long Island. 
This was as obvious to me then as it is now, and I had 
backed my opinion with the bet of a beaver hat, that 
there would be no attempt to defend it. It appears 
from documents since published, that it was the opinion 
of the commander-in-chief, that it should be abandoned, 
as well as of other officers in whom he principally con- 
fided, though not of the majority of the council of war. 
Not long after, however, the propriety of the measure 
became so apparent, that it was universally concurred in* 



DESERTION ANECDOTE. 



and the place was given up, though not without a consi- 
derable loss of stores. Previously to this operation, our 
numbers had been much reduced by the desertion of 
great bodies of the militia, and some of the other troops 
that had been infected by their bad example, as appears 
from the letters of the general. A greater loss than them- 
selves was that of the arms and ammunition they took 
away with them. I very well recollect that it was found 
necessary to post a guard at Kingsbridge to stop the 
fugitives; and that, upon one of them being arrested with 
a number of notions in a bag, there was found among 
them a cannon ball, which, he said, he was taking home 
to his mother, for the purpose of pounding mustard. 
Such was the story ; and though I was not a witness of 
the fact, I can vouch for its being entirely in character. 
An instance of shameful cowardice was also given by 
Parson's and Fellow's brigades, (in which their generals, 
however, were not implicated,) as mentioned in an offi- 
cial letter of the 1 6th of September. On this occasion, 
I have understood that the general lost all patience, 
throwing his hat upon the ground in a transport of rage 
and indignation. A day or two after this dastardly af- 
fair, better conduct was shown by some companies of Co- 
lonel Weedon's regiment from Virginia, and some ran- 
gers, composed of volunteers from different New Eng- 
land regiments, under the command of Major Leitch 
and Colonel Knolton, both of whom were mortally 
wounded. 

The army now took a position upon the high grounds 
surrounding Fort Washington, comprehending the 
Heights of Haerlem and the difficult Pass towards 
Kingsbridge. A double row of lines was thrown up, 
nearly extending from Haerlem river to the Hudson, on 



AEMY TAKE POST ON THE HUDSON RIVER. 1*73 

the south, looking towards New York, of which General 
Howe was now in possession. General Washington ap- 
pears to have had a good opinion of this post ; but, though 
certainly strong by nature, and improved by entrench- 
ments in its most accessible parts, its eligibility for any 
other purpose than that of a temporary encampment was 
very questionable. It was liable to the same objection 
as the posts of Brooklyn and New York. It was only 
open to the country on the side of Kingsbridge ; and, 
consequently, the slightest demonstrations of the adver- 
sary, in that quarter, must have induced its abandon- 
ment, unless we should have been disposed for an en- 
counter of similar difficulties to those from which we 
were just extricated, and again trying the fortune of an 
escape across a river under the very paws of the enemy. 
But the idea, about this time, seems to have been taken 
up of making our resistance a war of posts ; or of dis- 
puting, inch by inch, our ground. This sort of war, 
however, when referring to the operations of a weaker 
army, in a country without regular fortresses, appears to 
be scarcely practicable, unless it should have the good 
fortune to be protected by a succession of Thermopyles, 
There are few posts which may not be turned and block- 
aded by a superior force ; and the experience of a campaign 
is sufficient to evince the fallacy of supposing a position 
to be good, merely because its approaches are difficult. 
The impropriety of remaining in the present one was 
immediately perceived by Lee, who joined us about the 
middle of October. He declared at once against the po- 
licy of having any thing to do with the islands, about 
which we had been clinging so pertinaciously \ and with 
a figure somewhat too bold for the genius of our patriot- 



174 



BRITISH ADVANCE AMERICAN TACTICS. 



ism, exclaimed, that " he would give Mr Howe a fee- 
simple in them." 

But before we permit ourselves to arraign the conduct 
of the commander-in-chief, we ought to obtain a clear 
idea of what his operations should have been. Because 
inferior to the foe, was he, therefore, to have kept at an 
awful distance from him ? Would this have satisfied the 
country, or promoted the cause it had in hand ? It had 
been buoyed up into an exalted opinion of its prowess ; 
and thence expected fighting, if not victories. To have 
wholly shunned the conflict, then, would have been a 
confession of a weakness, which, as the people were not 
prepared for, it was dangerous to expose. It would have 
been too sudden a descent from the high ground of in- 
dependence. 

About the middle of October, General Howe, having 
drawn his main body to Frogs Point, the immediate ne- 
cessity of a removal of our army from its present post 
became apparent, and was resolved on accordingly. It 
is not to be supposed, without ascribing an extreme want 
of discernment to our councils, but that the danger of 
remaining on a strip of land, embarrassed by the Hud- 
son and the Sound, must have been perceived, and duly 
estimated, before the arrival of General Lee. Neverthe- 
less, it seems to have been considered, that, by hovering 
about New York, restricting the limits of the enemy, 
and thereby obliging him to have recourse to counter- 
acting movements, the campaign might be consumed in 
fruitless operations. This mode of proceeding, extreme- 
ly perilous, and only harassing to ourselves, may, proba- 
bly, be referred, in part, to a proud military spirit, which 
could not brook the supposed disgrace of flying before 
the foe, and, in part, to that prime source of our disas- 

i 



FIRE IN NEW YORK. 



175 



ters, short enlistments and the militia system. For want 
of a permanent established force, which would have 
placed our cause above the reach of vulgar opinion, the 
public mind was perpetually to be consulted. The po- 
pularity of the measure declaratory of independence was 
suspended on our chance of success ; and this would 
principally be estimated by the ground we maintained or 
lost. Hence, as every acre had its political value, the 
defensive warfare, on the large scale, could not safely be 
adopted ; nor, for that reason, can the Fabian fame, of 
" never having yielded the public safety to clamour," be 
fully ascribed to General Washington. 

While the main army remained at the Heights of 
Haerlem, a period of five weeks, from about the middle 
of September to the middle of October, we (Sheets and 
Magaw's regiments) constituted a part of it, and did 
duty accordingly. It was my chance to be on guard on 
the night of the fire at New York, on the piquet advan- 
ced about a mile in front of our lines. For a consider- 
able extent, the heavens appeared in flames, and, from 
the direction of the light, I could not doubt there was 
a conflagration in the city. I might have been distant 
from it about nine miles ; and had not my situation been 
overlooked by a hill directly in front, the cause might, 
perhaps, have been distinctly developed. Whether this 
fire was produced by accident or design has never, I be- 
lieve, been ascertained. By the British it was considered 
as proceeding from us. A few weeks after, having, for 
some purpose which I do not recollect, been sent, toge- 
ther with Captain Beatty, with a flag, we talked with 
the officer who met us about the extent of the fire and 
its cause. He said he was unacquainted with the cause, 



176 COURT-MARTIAL GENERALS PUTNAM AND GREENE. 



but presumed Mr Washington's people knew more about 
it than they did. 

The antipathy prevailing between the southern and 
eastern troops had been the cause of a court-martial, of 
which I was a member, upon the conduct of Lieutenant 
Stewart, of Smallwood's regiment, better known by his 
subsequent title of Major Jack Stewart. He had been 
arrested by General Silliman, on account of some alleged 
disrespect or disobedience to that officer. As the majo- 
rity of the court were southern men, it was not at all 
wonderful that Stewart was soon acquitted with honour. 
In so contemptible a light were the New England men 
regarded, that it was scarcely held possible to conceive a 
case which could be construed into a reprehensible dis- 
respect of them. Thinking so highly as I now do of the 
gentlemen of this country, the recollection is painful \ 
but the fact must not be dissembled. Even the celebrat- 
ed General Putnam, riding with a hanger belted across 
his brawny shoulders, over a waistcoat without sleeves, 
(his summer costume,) was deemed much fitter to head 
a band of sickle-men, or ditchers, than musketeers. He 
might be brave, and had certainly an honest manliness 
about him ; but it was thought, and, perhaps, with rea- 
son, that he was not what the time required. We had a 
regular army to oppose, and this could only be done by 
discipline and regular soldiership. Neither did General 
Greene himself shine with all the eclat that his character 
has since deservedly acquired. 

There were none, by whom an un officer-like appear- 
ance and deportment could be less tolerated than by a 
city-bred Marylander, who, at this time, was distinguish- 
ed by the most fashionably- cut coat, the most macaroni 
cocked hat, and hottest blood in the Union \ if there 

8 



GENERALS PUTNAM AND GREENE. 



177 



was any exception, it was to be found among the chil- 
dren of the sun of a still more southern location. 
Among all these the point of honour was maintained, as 
it still seems to be, with considerable punctilio ; and the 
dashing manner of Stewart, and indignant tone of Cap- 
tain Smith, (now General Smith,) who testified in his 
behalf, impressed the court, I remember, with an high 
idea of their military qualities : and brave men they cer- 
tainly were — a praise, indeed, due to the officers from 
Maryland generally, as well as to those of Smallwood's 
battalion, which behaved well and suffered severely on 
Long Island and at White Plains. Its officers exhibits 
ed a martial appearance by a uniform of scarlet and 
buff ; which, by the bye, savoured somewhat of a servili- 
ty of imitation, not fully according with the indepen- 
dence we had assumed. The common soldiers from the 
east and south did not much better assimilate than the 
officers ; but a traffic was soon established between the 
former and the Pennsylvanians. This consisted in a 
barter of the ration of rum for that of molasses. The 
Yankees did not care for the first, and our Irishmen 
could very well dispense with the latter. It has been 
supposed that the Pennsylvania line consisted chiefly of 
Irish, but this would by no means appear from my com- 
pany. Out of seventy- three men, I find there were 
twenty from Ireland, four from England, two from 
Scotland, two from Germany, and the remaining forty- 
five were Americans. To these, adding four Ameri- 
can officers, the proportion of Irish is but little more 
than a fourth. 

The official letters of General Washington ascertain 
the movement of the army towards White Plains to have 
commenced on the twentieth of October. We were 

M 



178 AUTHOR STATIONED AT FORT WASHINGTON, 

very desirous of being attached to it, both for the sake 
of variety, and the better opportunity of seeing service 
and acquiring distinction ; but to our extreme chagrin, 
found that we were to remain in our prison. It was, 
perhaps, supposed we had an affection for the work of 
our hands ; but if so, nothing could be more erroneous. 
We were weary of the sameness of garrison duty, which, 
from the great extent of ground we had to guard, be- 
came very severe. It was not unusual for a captain to 
be on guard twice a- week, and a subaltern oftener. 

Our battalion was now commanded by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Cadwalader ; Colonel Shee having, before the 
march of the army, obtained leave of absence to visit his 
family, and converted that leave into an entire abdica- 
tion of his command. This was certainly an extraordi- 
nary incident, and one I have never heard accounted for. 
Whatever cause he might have had for disgust, or for 
conceiving that our affairs were tending to ruin, his duty 
seemed too imperious to be relinquished ; and when 
Colonel Cadwalader acquainted some of us with his sus- 
picion, and indeed conviction, that he would not return, 
we were truly astonished. But though I attempt not to 
apologize for his conduct, I must say, that he had some 
useful talents for the command of a regiment. He was 
remarkably attentive to the necessary accommodations of 
every kind, whether of food, clothing, tents, arms, or 
accoutrements ; indefatigable in his endeavours to pro- 
mote discipline, and even enthusiastic in what regarded 
the neatness and soldier-like appearance of the corps. 
He was, moreover, gentlemanly and agreeable in his 
manners. Whether his promptness in discerning diffi- 
culties overmatched his fortitude in sustaining them, I 
venture not to say ; but he left us in the manner 



COLONEL SHEE COUNCIL OF SAFETY. 



179 



stated. Mr Shee is no longer in a situation to be hurt 
by a recognition of his delinquency, if such it was ; nor 
is it mentioned from a disrespect to his memory. Such 
a motive I disclaim. With me he was ever friendly, 
and free from party rancour; personally, I liked the 
man, and accepted his civilities, w T hich I never failed to 
receive on meeting him in Philadelphia. 

An event, that took place a few weeks after the re- 
tirement of the colonel, had almost tempted some of us 
to follow his illaudable example. The committee, or 
council of safety, as it was now called, had undergone a 
regeneration ; and consisted, with perhaps an exception 
or two, of a new set of members, Persons acquainted 
with the genius of liberty will not be surprised at this. 
To borrow the language of French paradox, there is no- 
thing permanent in a revolution but change. In the auc- 
tion of popularity, the bid is ever more attended to than 
the inclination or ability to pay ; and the most boldly- 
dashing patriot is ever the most successful one. So it 
proved in the council. New men, inflated with a little 
brief authority, are always glad of an occasion for display- 
ing their consequence ; and partial to the source from 
whence they derive their importance, they are ever 
ready to recognise aristocratic oppression. In this spi- 
rit, they lent an ear to all the idle ill-founded reports of 
the cowardly, skulking soldiers, who, under the pretence 
of sickness or otherwise, had found their way to Phila- 
delphia. These fellows told the council that their cap- 
tains had cheated them, and the council, without inqui- 
ry, seemed to take the matter as proved. They, ac- 
cordingly, wrote an illiberal letter to Colonel Cadwala- 
der on the subject, which he thought it his duty to lay 
before us, though despising the low spirit that had die- 



180 



MILITARY PROMOTIONS. 



tated it. In addition to this affront, this same body, 
who still retained the power of appointment to military 
command, went on in the manufacture of majors and co- 
lonels, in utter disregard of the claims of the officers in 
service, and, sometimes, from the coarsest materials. 
An hour's visit to the camp seemed to have more merit, 
in their eyes, than daily and nightly duty in it ; and a 
little self-puffing, with due incense, could hardly fail to 
propitiate these great dispensers of commissions. One 
instance of their propensity to make promotions occur- 
red in the case of an adjutant, who had been enclosed by 
the Hessians in the battle of Long Island. He contriv- 
ed to conceal himself in the woods till dark, when, from 
his understanding and speaking German, he was enabled 
to answer and elude their sentries ; and, by so doing, to 
get back to our lines. For this piece of address, which 
consisted merely in good hiding and speaking his mother 
tongue, the council invested him with a majority, at 
once jumping him over the heads of all the captains and 
subalterns in the line. This adjutant was Mentges, al- 
ready spoken of as a fencing-master in Philadelphia j 
and who first appeared there in the less dignified cha- 
racter of a dancer on the stage, a circumstance which 
rendered his preferment still more galling. I should 
be unjust, however, if I did not say, that Mentges, 
though at this time little known, turned out to be an 
honest, worthy man, attentive to duty, correct in his 
demeanour, and generally esteemed, though certainly 
not for talents that could throw others into shade, or 
justify his irregular advancement. 

Conscious of integrity, soured by hard duty, and 
smarting under the reflection, that while we were sus- 
taining the severest privations, the very men, who im- 



REMONSTRANCE OF OFFICERS. 



181 



puted fraud to us, were snug and secure at their fire- 
sides, we declared that we would not remain a day 
longer in a service at once so thankless and preposterous. 
Colonel Cadwalader, to whom we made the declaration, 
remonstrated against its rashness, while he admitted the 
enormity of the provocation. He observed to us, that 
nothing could justify such a step in the heat of a cam- 
paign 5 that it would ruin us, in the public opinion, and 
embitter our future lives ; that it would recoil upon 
ourselves, and be an everlasting blister to our sensibility. 
In short, he said every thing which a sensible, prudent 
man, acquainted with the world, could say upon the 
occasion. We felt the full force of his reasoning and 
acquiesced in it ; though I have not an idea that one of 
us would have put the threat in execution had we 
been left entirely to ourselves. Our vapouring was the 
effect of sudden passion, which, at length, vented itself 
in the following letter, written, and sent off, with 
nearly as little consideration as we had used in taking 
up our first resolution : — 

" Gentlemen, — Were it not that some expressions 
of resentment are natural to the human mind when it 
feels itself injured, we should disdain the meanness of 
telling you, how much we were mortified on seeing your 
letter to Colonel Cadwalader, containing your illiberal 
charge against the captains of his battalion, of withhold- 
ing the pay due to their men. 

" For the same reason, we cannot forbear mention- 
ing our dissatisfaction at the late appointments and pro- 
motions, wherein some, that have never been in ser- 
vice, are preferred to those who have undergone the 
toils and dangers of a severe campaign, and others, of 



182 



EEMONSTBANCE OF OFFICERS. 



an inferior rank, to those of a superior, without any 
proof, or, as we presume, suggestion of misbehaviour in 
the latter. 

" As to the accusation of fraud ! we are above it. 
We mean not a vindication : to attempt it would 
betray a meanness which might almost justify the base 
suspicion. In a word, we deny the charge, and rest 
perfectly easy under a consciousness that it cannot be 
supported. 

" As to the promotions, we shall only say, that the man, 
who feels no indignity upon such occasions, wants an es- 
sential qualification for a soldier, and is, in our opinion, 
unworthy to bear a commission. 

" But do not imagine, gentlemen, by this, that we are 
envious of superior merit. For our parts, we pretend 
to very little j and in any other service, for merit is rat- 
ed by comparison, we should think ourselves inadequate 
to our present appointments. We entered into the army 
not for pay or preferment, but to serve our country to 
the best of our poor abilities : 'Tis this alone which 
keeps us in it at this hour, as we conceive, and in so 
doing, we hope we may not incur the imputation of 
vanity, that, notwithstanding the insignificance of our ser- 
vices, the cause, as well as our honour, might suffer from 
our resignations. However, we mean not to continue in 
the army, nor do we intend to accept of commissions on 
the new establishment ; and it is a matter of the ut- 
most indifference to us how soon the council of safety 
may take it into their heads to appoint others more to 
their satisfaction, in the room of, Gentlemen, 
" Your most obedient servants." 

This angry epistle was signed, 1 think, by five of us. 

12 



FORT WASHINGTON INDEFENSIBLE. 



183 



We heard no more of it ; but, in the sequel, we had 
reason to wish that it never had been written ; and 
were convinced that silence, under suffering, is general- 
ly, if not always, wise. 

The denouement of the drama, in which we were acting 
a part, was now rapidly approaching. After the action 
of White Plains, of which, as I was not there, I shall 
say nothing, General Howe, with his army, was falling 
down upon our post ; and we had little doubt that his 
object was to invest it without delay. On receipt of this 
intelligence Colonel Cadwalader proposed to me to 
walk with him to the fort, (for we were now stationed 
in the lines of Haerlem Heights,) that we might en- 
deavour, by an examination of its means of defence, to 
collect whether it could be the design to hold it. We 
went and reconnoitered it, and the result was, that it 
was absolutely untenable, and must be abandoned ; 
though still, all the measures taking seemed to point to 
a defence. I will not undertake minutely to describe 
the situation of the fort, as my memory might not enable 
me to do it truly- But I recollect, as it has been ob- 
served by General Lee, that there were no barracks, or 
casemates, or fuel, or water, within the body of the place. 
It was an open earthen construction, with ground at a 
short distance on the back of it, equally high, if not 
higher ; without a ditch of any consequence, if there 
was a ditch at all ; no outworks, an incipient one on the 
north, not deserving the appellation, or any of those ex- 
terior multiplied obstacles and defences, that, so far as 
1 can judge, could entitle it to the name of a fortress, in 
any degree capable of sustaining a siege. It required 
no parallels to approach it ; the citadel was at once with- 
in reach of the assailants. In addition to this, there 



184 DEMONSTRATION OF AN ATTACK. 

were no magazines of any kind prepared ; and it is stat- 
ed in the Annual Register, which carried on the history 
of the war, that* with its other deficiencies, there was 
not found in it ammunition adequate to the shortest de- 
fence. Yet it was to be defended, as will soon appear : 
And Gordon, in his history, gives a letter from Colonel 
Magaw, stating that he could hold out until the latter 
part of December, an opinion which shows him to have 
been more miserably deficient in judgment than ever we 
supposed him to be. He had heard of sieges being pro- 
tracted for months and even years ; he had a good 
opinion of the spirit of his garrison ; and, as the place 
he had to defend was called a fort, and had cannon in 
it, he thought the deuce was in it if he could not hold 
out a few weeks. Such, probably, were the data of his 
calculation ; nor, though friendly to the memory of 
a sincere and gallant man, can I suppose them a jot bet- 
ter. 

While we remained in this incertitude in respect to 
bur destination, and the main armies were manoeuvring 
above us about the Brunx, Lord Percy, who command- 
ed the British troops on York Tsland, thought proper, 
one day, to appear in force in the plains of Haerlem, 
lying between his and our advanced posts. It was on 
Sunday, the day his lordship was supposed to prefer for 
his military operations. As we were both too insignifi- 
cant, and too distant to admit the supposition that it 
was intended as a diversion in favour of General Howe, 
his object probably was to put our countenance to the 
test ; to feel our pulse, and if he found it tremulous, to 
push us into the fort. But, on the other hand, if he 
found it full and regular, it was only to bluster a while 
with his artillery ; skirmish a little with his small arms 



DEMONSTRATION OF AN ATTACK. 



185 



and retire. This was all, at least, that came of a very 
pompous display. We had one field-piece with which 
we answered his fire ; and from the carcase of a white 
horse, which was left bleaching on the ground he occu- 
pied, we had satisfactory evidence that our balls had 
reached him. It was not our business to quit the high 
ground in force, although some of our men were per- 
mitted to skirmish with the light parties which ap- 
proached us. The firing was pretty warm, and a few 
men killed and wounded on either side. An Irish lad 
of about eighteen, who belonged to my company, killed 
a British soldier and brought off' his arms ; which, on 
the evening parade, were formally presented to him by 
Colonel Cadwalader in reward of his bravery. History 
has preserved no record of this affair, which, trifling as 
it was, is as well deserving of memorial as mauy others, 
that have been preserved in the transactions of our 
petite guere. Had it passed between the grand armies, 
it would, without doubt, have been taken notice of ; but 
as it did not, we are reduced to the unfortunate situation 
of Sir John Falstaff at the battle of Shrewsbury, in be- 
ing obliged, though late, to attend to its booking our- 
selves. The celebrated Thomas Paine, however, hap- 
pened to witness the proceeding from Fort Lee, and 
gave us an handsome puff in one of the Philadelphia 
papers of the day. 

Another affair, which never got beyond the precincts 
of our secluded position, was the carrying a Hessian 
picquet on the side of Kingsbridge. This was achiev- 
ed by one of our Serjeants and a few men, but three or 
four days before we were taken. The officer of the 
guard was killed ; and the serjeant, with the savage ex- 



186 



SKIRMISHING CAMP COMFORTS. 



ultation of one of Homer's heroes, appeared in his uni- 
form on the parade. 

It was now November, and the nights becoming cold. 
It was the season, too, for north-easterly storms, one of 
which is rendered memorable to me, from a circumstance 
of some interest which accompanied it. I was upon 
guard with Lieutenant Davidson, of our battalion, at a 
place distinguished by the appellation of The Point of 
Rocks, which skirted the road leading to Kingsbridge. 
This was our most advanced picquet towards New York, 
and only separated from that of the enemy by a valley a 
few hundred yards over. The night, as already men- 
tioned, was extremely raw, rainy, and tempestuous ; and 
the only shelter the spot afforded was an old caboose, 
which had been placed here by way of guard-house. A 
kind of chimney had been built at the mouth of it, and 
a fire here, in calm weather, rendered it tolerably com- 
fortable ; but at this time, the smoke produced and driven 
into the cabin by the storm could not be endured ; nei- 
ther was the shelter from the driving rain by any means 
sufficient ; we were dripping wet. In this miserable si- 
tuation, Davidson proposed our going to a deserted house 
on the low ground directly across the road, where we 
could have a fire, and be dry and comfortable. But this 
I refused to do, since, though not more than thirty or 
forty yards from our post, and though rather an exten- 
sion than a dereliction of it, yet it varied the station as 
to ourselves. The non-commissioned officers and the 
rest of the guard were, indeed, to remain there ; but, in 
case of disaster, there would be blame, and the responsi- 
bility was upon us, and particularly upon myself. In 
this resolution, I for a long time persisted against the re- 



LUDICROUS ALARM DESERTER. 



187 



peated importunities of my companion, who ingeniously 
obviated my objections, until at length, the storm rather 
increasing than abating, I consented, about midnight, to 
go to the house, first taking the precaution to continue 
the line of sentinels from the point of rocks across the 
road, and round the building at some distance from it, so 
that it was impossible it should be approached by the 
enemy unperceived, should he endeavour to grope his way 
into unknown hostile ground, in one of the darkest and 
most dismal nights that can be conceived. We had locat- 
ed ourselves in an outer room, where we had a good fire, 
and had already pretty well dried ourselves. Davidson 
was stretched along a bench fixed to the wall, half asleep, 
if not wholly so, and I was sitting before the fire, when a 
sudden noise of feet and voices reached the door. The 
latch was lifted, and as I rose up, not without consider- 
able alarm, the first object that presented itself was a 
British soldier, with his musket and fixed bayonet in 
his hand. " Who are you?" said I, " a deserter!" — 
" No deserter," was the answer. My emotion did not 
prevent my preserving a pretty good countenance, though 
my first impression was, that we were surprised, and 
should be bayoneted out of hand. But this idea was 
scarcely formed, when the appearance of one of my own 
men behind the British soldier changed it to a more 
pleasing one, and justified, if it did not induce, the ad- 
dition of the term deserter to the question of who are 
you ? In fact, he was a deserter ; but, though in the 
very act of committing the crime, he revolted against its 
opprobrium. I understood him, and softened down the 
ungraciousness of my salutation, by asking him if he had 
come over to us. He answered, " Yes." Gur sentinel 
had done his duty but awkwardly, in not having disarm- 



188 



author's station unsafe. 



ed the soldier, and introduced him in a less questionable 
shape. 

The bustle of the incident having completely roused 
Davidson, and set him upon his legs, we fell to ques- 
tioning our refugee. He called himself Broderick, was 
an intelligent fellow, and brought with him the last 
newspaper from New York. He had for some time, he 
said, projected coming over to us, and had availed him- 
self of this stormy night to put his design in execution. 
By means of the darkness, he had been enabled to sepa- 
rate himself from his comrades without their perceiving 
it, and had probably got to our sentries before they dis- 
covered him to be gone. He informed us that we might 
expect to be attacked in six or eight days at farthest, as 
some time had been employed in transporting heavy ar- 
tillery to the other side of the Haerlem, and as the pre- 
parations for the assault were nearly completed. Among 
other things, he told us, that our situation at this house 
was a very unsafe one, as their patroles, still speaking as 
a Briton, passed very near it, and might easily sweep us 
off ; and, indeed, he appeared uneasy at the idea while he 
staid with us. This was not long. I put him under the 
care of a trusty serjeant, with orders to guard him vigi- 
lantly, and to take him to head-quarters as soon as it 
should be light enough to find the way there. The 
hint we had received, in regard to the enemy's proximity, 
and, still more, our own knowledge of the comparative 
insecurity of our present station with the one we had 
left, induced us to return to the latter, maugre the com- 
forts of a snug room and good fire. We accordingly 
drew in our sentinels, and repaired to the caboose, where 
we weathered out the remainder of the night, by this 
time pretty far advanced. 



FORT WASHINGTON SUMMONED. 



189 



The deserter's information turned out to be correct, 
as in not more than eight or ten days, I think, Colonel 
Magaw, the commandant of the fort, was summoned by 
General Howe to surrender it. He returned the usual 
answer, that he would defend it to the last extremity. 
This was announced us at evening parade by Colonel 
Cadwalader, who, in a few words, put us in mind of 
what our country and our honour demanded of us, and 
enjoined it both on officers and men to see that their 
arms and ammunition were in order, and to hold them- 
selves in readiness to take their posts before day-light 
next morning. The plan of defence adopted by Colonel 
Magaw was, instead of cooping up his garrison in the 
fort, to draw it out into the post which had been occu- 
pied by the main army. This consisted of the strong 
grounds towards Kingsbridge on the north ; the ele- 
vated, steep, and rocky bank of Haerlem river on the 
east ; and the entrenchments on the south ; the western 
limit, or rear of the position, being the Hudson river, 
commanded to a certain extent by Forts Washington and 
Lee on either side. Although I have always supposed 
that this post would require at least ten thousand men 
for its support, perhaps, in that number, I am much be- 
low the mark, as I find it stated by the King of Prussia, 
in his History of the Seven Years' War, that sixteen 
thousand men were very inadequate to the defence of 
Berlin, three miles in circumference, say nine or ten of 
our miles. * Now, the circuit to be defended by Magaw 



* A case,, perhaps still more in point, occurred during the same 
war, when General Fonquet, with ten thousand six hundred and 
eighty men, undertook to defend the post of Landshut, at which 
there were redoubts, against General Laudohn with an army of 



190 



COLONEL MAGAW'S MODES OF DEFENCE. 



was scarcely less, if I have not much forgotten its dimen- 
sions, than four or five miles : the scale in the map of 
Chief- Justice Marshall's Life of Washington would make 
it not less than seven ; and to do this, he had nominally 
something more than two thousand soldiers, really little 
more than half their number : For I cannot set any 
great value upon the militia poured in upon us, on the 
evening before, and on the morning of the engagement. 
My complaisance to the sovereign people will not carry 
me so far, as to compliment them with being soldiers 
without an iota of discipline, or ever having seen an 
enemy, even though every tenth man among them were 
a Caesar in valour, or a Cato in patriotism. Several in- 
dividuals, however, of this description of force behaved 
bravely. 

I cannot give a stronger proof of my ill opinion of the 
fort, than when I say, that of the alternatives presented 
to Colonel Magaw, of confining his defence to it, or of 
extending his operations to so large a circuit, he adopt- 
ed the right one in choosing the latter. It might in- 
deed be made a question, whether the defence should not 
have been restricted to the oblong hill on which the fort 



thirty-four thousand men. A particular account of this is to be 
found in the 13th volume of the King of Prussia's Works. The 
force of Fonquet was deemed wholly insufficient, as there were in- 
tervals of ground, of two thousand paces or more, left undefended. 
— We had intervals, perhaps proportionally large, that we were 
unable to man ; hence, if General Fonquet received the warmest 
approbation of the king, his master, for his unsuccessful attempt, 
(for he was beaten and made prisoner,) it is surely unnecessary for 
the American historian to seek an apology for the loss of Fort 
Washington in the rawness of some of the troops to whom its de- 
fence was committed. 



EEFLECTIONS ON THE SITUATION OF THE THOOPS. 191 



was erected : But this ground being considerably weak- 
er than that of the banks of the Haerlem, (taking the 
river into consideration,) the temptation to prefer the 
latter both for this reason, and because it had somewhat 
of the advantage of an outwork, in keeping the assailants 
at a distance, always a desideratum with the besieged, 
might have prevailed with a more experienced command- 
er than Magaw. I have no doubt, however, that the 
works and defences of the fortress should have compre- 
hended the whole of this hill, called Mount Washing- 
ton, in which case, with adequate preparation and maga- 
zines, it might have stood a siege. * There was yet ano- 
ther mode which would, in some degree, have contracted 
the position : and this was, instead of manning the out- 
er entrenchments towards New York, to have placed the 
men in the inner one, and upon the high grounds about 
Colonel Roger Morris's house. This would have shorten- 
ed the front on Haerlem river, and by more compacting 
the force, have put its several parts into a better condition 
of mutual succour and support. But, besides that this 
disposition would not have very considerably abridged 
the circuit to be defended, and that it might have been 
liable to some positive objections, I am not aware of, the 
desideratum already adverted to would naturally induce 
a preference of the further lines ; and no doubt the cal- 
culation was, that, after fighting to the utmost in the first, 



* Mr Stedman, in his history of the war, blames Colonel Ma- 
gaw for suffering his men, upon being driven from their outposts, 
to crowd into the fort, instead of forming upon this hill : But, im- 
properly, I presume, as the Hessians must have been in posses- 
sion of the north end of the hill, as soon as Rawlins was driven 
from it. 



19^ REFLECTIONS ON THE SITUATION OF THE TROOPS. 



we might fight again in the second. In fact, the idea 
of taking an extensive range, and equally resisting in 
every part the compression to the centre, the effect and 
advantage of regular fortifications sufficiently manned, is 
extremely plausible and seducing ; insomuch, that none 
but an old general, who has been taught, by long expe- 
rience, to know the importance of adhering to rules of 
proportion, as well in the management of animate as in- 
animate machinery, will have the boldness to disregard 
it. Whether these two last schemes of defence, or 
either of them, occurred to our commander, I do not 
know ; but if they did occur, they were probably contem- 
plated as dernier resorts, or efforts in reserve, which it 
would be time enough to employ, when our first exer- 
tions should have been overpowered. The same reason- 
ing might have induced General Greene to suppose, 
that, after slaughtering a host of the enemy, we might 
methodically withdraw into the citadel of Fort Wash- 
ington : and then, provided each of us had killed his 
man, and thus fulfilled the object of the operation, if any 
object it had, we might have been snugly slipped over 
the Hudson, as erst we had been over the East river. 
But in hello non licet bis errare, — we should beware of 
repeating a mistake in war ; and how this fine project 
was marred, and the garrison put hors de combat, will 
now be seen. I repeat, however, that the error was in 
attempting to defend the place, not in the disposition of 
the troops, which, all things considered, was, perhaps, as 
advantageous as possible. 

But, supposing Fort Washington tenable, " what 
single purpose," as it has been observed by General 
Lee, " did it answer to keep it ?" Did it cover, — did 
it protect a valuable country ? Did it prevent the ene- 

10 



POSITION OF THE TROOPS. 



193 



my's ships from passing and repassing with impunity ?" 
No ; but we had been too much in the habit of evacuat- 
ing posts, and it was high time to correct the procedure. 
This garrison must stand, because it had been hitherto 
too fashionable to run away ; and Pennsylvania and 
Maryland must pay for the retreating alacrity of New 
England. * If any thing better can be made of Gene- 
ral Greene's motives for retaining the post, as mention- 
ed in General Washington's official letter to Congress, I 
am willing to take to myself the discredit of perversion. 
If what I say should be thought to implicate the com- 
mander-in-chief, and to impugn his decision, I cannot 
help it. A good man he undoubtedly w T as, nor will 
party malignity be ever able to deprive him of the fame 
of a truly great one. But my veneration for truth is 
even greater than that for his character ; nor will my ad- 
miration of his virtues induce me to say that his military 
career was without a blemish. 

On the sixteenth of November, before day -break, we 
were at our posts in the lower lines of Haerlem Heights ; 
that is, our regiment and Magaw's, and some broken 
companies of Miles's, and other battalions, principally 
from Pennsylvania. This might be called our right wing, 
and was under the command of Colonel Cadwalader ; 
our left, extending to the Hudson above and on the 
north side of the fort towards Kingsbridge, was command- 



* Once for all, let me be understood as only alluding, in these 
remarks, to the bad constitution of the New England troops ; and 
by no means to the people generally, who have, no doubt, the 
means of furnishing as good officers as any other part of the 
Union. But from their shameful inattention to it this campaign, the 
southern officers were warranted in their indignation. 

N 



194 



ATTACKED BY THE BRITISH. 



ed by Colonel Rawlins of Maryland, who had there his 
own regiment of riflemen, and probably some other 
troops ; though, as the position was narrow, numbers 
were not so essential to it as to other parts of the general 
post. The front, or centre, extending a considerable 
distance along Haerlem river, * was committed to the 
militia of the Flying Camp, and Colonel Magaw placed 
himself in the most convenient station for attending to 
the whole, having selected one or two officers to assist 
him, as aids-de-camp. I think it was between seven and 
eight o'clock when they gave us the first shot from one 
of their batteries, on the other side of Haerlem river. It 
was well directed at a cluster of us that were standing 
together observing their movements ; but it fell short by 
about ten or fifteen yards, and bounded over the spot we 
had precipitately abandoned. In correcting this error, 
they afterwards shot too high, and did us no harm ; at 
least, while I remained in this part of the field, which, 
though enfiladed, or rather exposed in the rear, was too 
distant to be very seriously annoyed. They had better 
success in front, killing a man with a cannon-ball belong- 



* In calling this the front, I conform to Chief- Justice Marshall's de- 
scription of the action. As the longest line of the position, it was the 
front, but seems improperly so called, when it is considered, that, 
except at its upper extremity, no troops were posted on it. It would 
be more correct, therefore, to consider the posts, the one crossing 
the island on the north, under Colonels Rawlins and Baxter, and 
the other on the south, under Colonel Cadwalader, as two distinct 
and unconnected positions, separated, as they were, by a space of 
about three miles. This interval, for above half its extent, lying 
along the banks of the Haerlem, was to depend for defence on 
casual supplies of troops, as they could be spared, from other 
places. 



EATTLE OF HAEBLEM HEIGHTS, 



195 



ing to our picquets, which they drove in. Soon after, 
they approached the lines in great force, under cover of 
a wood, in the verge of which they halted, and slowly be- 
gan to form, giving us an occasional discharge from their 
artillery. Tired of the state of suspense in which we had 
remained for several days, I proposed to Colonel Cad- 
walader to throw myself, with my company, into a small 
work, or ravelin, about two hundred yards in advance, 
for the purpose of annoying them as they came up. To 
this he assented, and I took possession of it ; but found 
it was a work that had been little more than marked out, 
not knee high, and, of course, affording no cover. For 
this reason, after remaining in it a few minutes, with a 
view to impress my men with the idea that a breastwork 
was not absolutely necessary, I abandoned it, and re- 
turned into the intrenchment. This unimportant move- 
ment was treated with some respect. Not knowing its 
meaning, it induced the troops that were in column im- 
mediately to display, and the irregulars to open upon us 
a scattering fire. Soon after my return to the lines, it 
being observed that the enemy was extending himself to- 
wards the Hudson, on our right, Colonel CacValader 
detached me thither with my company, with orders to 
post myself to the best advantage for the protection of 
that flank. I accordingly marched, and took my sta- 
tion at the extremity of the trench, just where the high 
grounds begin to decline towards the river. This situa- 
tion, from the intervention of higher land, concealed from 
my view the other parts of the field ; and thence disqua- 
lifies me from speaking of what passed there as an eye- 
witness. But, that the action had begun in earnest, I 
was, some time after, informed by my sense of hearing. 
It was assailed by a most tremendous roar of artillery, 



196 



SUCCESS OF THE BATTLE. 



quickly succeeded by incessant vollies of small arms, 
which seemed to proceed from the east and the north ; 
and it was to these points that General Howe chiefly di- 
rected his efforts. The direct and cross fire from his bat- 
teries, on the east side of the Haerlem, effectually cover- 
ed the landing of his troops, and protected them also in 
gaining the steep ascents on our side. It was no dis- 
grace to the militia that they shrunk from this fire ; such 
of them, at least, as were exposed to it without cover. I 
question whether the bravest veterans could have stood 
it, unless I am deceived as to the advantage of the ground 
on which the batteries were erected, When the heights 
were gained, the enemy planted there must maintain 
themselves by their small arms, since the artillery from 
their batteries would be equally fatal to them as to us. On 
receiving intelligence that embarkations of British troops 
were about to be thrown across Haerlem river in his rear, 
Colonel Cadwalader made detachments from his position 
(already much too weakly manned) to meet this body of 
the enemy, as yet unopposed by any part of our force, 
The first detachment arrived in time to open a fire upon 
the assailants before they reached the shore, and it was 
well directed and deadly. Nevertheless, their great su- 
periority of force, adequately aided by artillery, enabled 
them to land, and, by extending themselves, to gain the 
heights. On this ground it was that a sharp contest en- 
sued > speaking of which, in his official account of the 
action, General Howe says, ff It was well defended by a 
body of the rebels and so it undoubtedly was, when it 
is considered that but about one hundred and fifty of our 
men, with a single eighteen-pounder, were opposed by 
eight hundred British .troops, under cover of a battery. 
But, overpowered by numbers, the resistance was inef- 



SUCCESS OF THE BATTLE. 



197 



fectual ; and the detachments engaged in it retired to- 
wards the fort. Rawlins, on his part, made a gallant 
stand against the Hessians, under the command of Ge- 
neral Knyphausen, to whom had been assigned the pe- 
rilous glory of gaining this strong piece of ground, dif- 
fering essentially from that on the borders of Haerlem 
river, in the want of opposite heights for batteries. The 
Germans here lost a great many men ; but as they had 
been bought by his Britannic Majesty, he had an un- 
questionable right to make a free use of them ; and this 
seemed to be the conviction of General Howe. Rawlins 
also suffered a good deal in proportion to his numbers. 
He had, I think, two officers killed ; and himself, Major 
Williams, and some others, were wounded ; one of whom, 
a Mr Hanson, died in New York. The attainment of 
the post of Rawlins put the Hessians in possession of the 
ground which commanded the fort ; as that possessed by 
the British commanded the open field. Hence, the con- 
test might be said to be at an end. 

Colonel Cadwalader, aware that he was placed be- 
tween two fires ; and that the victorious enemy, in his 
rear, would soon extend themselves across the island, 
ordered a retreat just in time to prevent his intercep- 
tion. 

But I here suspend my own relation for the purpose 
of introducing a more ample statement of unquestiona- 
ble authenticity, obligingly furnished by a friend ; and 
which embracing more detail, and mentioning some in- 
teresting particulars but little known, will occupy a few 
pages, much to the advantage of these Memoirs. 

" Fort Washington stood on an eminence, situated on 
the margin of the Hudson, or North river, about two 
miles and a half below Kingsbridge. The access to 



398 



AMERICAN DEFENCES. 



the level on the top of it is steep and difficult on every 
side, except on the south, where the ground is open, and 
the ascent gradual to the fort. The hill extends along 
the North river about half a mile from the fort ; and at 
the termination of it were some small works, which, with 
the natural strength of the place, were deemed a sufficient 
protection against the enemy in that quarter. 

" Nearly opposite to the fort, on the west side of 
Haerlem river, a body of men was posted to watch the 
motions of the enemy, who had erected works on the 
high and commanding ground east of that river, appa- 
rently with the design of covering a landing of troops in 
that part of the island of New York. From this post, 
along the west side of Haerlem river, to Colonel Roger 
Morris's house, a distance of not less than a mile and a 
half, there were no troops posted either for observation 
or defence. 

" About a mile below Morris's house, two lines, near- 
ly parallel to each other, were constructed by General 
Washington, when the army retired to the upper part of 
the island, after the evacuation of New York. These 
lines extended from the vicinity of Haerlem river, across 
the island, to the North river, and were in length each 
about a mile. The first line, towards New York, inter- 
sected the great road leading to Kingsbridge, after the 
height is ascended from Haerlem Plains. It was a slight 
intrenchment, with a few weak bastions, without plat- 
forms for cannon, and furnished with no other ordnance 
than a few old iron pieces of small calibre, scarcely fit 
for use, and an iron six-pounder mounted on trucks. 
The second line was stronger, both from the nature of the 
ground, which afforded small eminences for bastions 
closed in the rear, and from having the intervals between 



DISPOSITION OF THE AMERICAN TROOPS. 



199 



the bastions strongly picketed. These lines were defen- 
sive works for the whole American army. The first line 
seemed calculated rather for retarding the approach of 
the enemy, than as a seriously defensive work ; it being 
nothing more (with the exception of the bastions) than 
a shallow ditch, with the earth thrown outwards. The 
second line was formed at a proper distance from the 
first, so as to protect the latter by musketry as well as 
cannon, and to drive out the enemy, should he get pos- 
session of it : but this second line, on the day of the at- 
tack of Fort Washington, was, from necessity, wholly 
without defence, either of troops, or artillery of any de- 
scription. 

" A summons having been sent by General Howe, on 
the day preceding the attack, to Colonel Magaw, to sur- 
render the fort ; and having met with a spirited refusal, 
the attack on the fort, and the posts connected with it, 
was expected, and actually took place on the following 
day. Colonel Magaw, who commanded on the island, 
remained in the fort ; Colonel Rawlins, with his regi- 
ment of riflemen, was posted on the rear of Mount Wash- 
ington ; Colonel Baxter, with his regiment of militia, 
on Haerlem river, opposite Fort Washington ; and Co- 
lonel Lambert Cadwalader, at the first line, about two 
and a half miles from the fort, with about eight hundred 
men, including a reinforcement of an hundred militia 
sent him, about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. 

" The operations of the enemy were announced early 
in the morning, by a cannonade on Colonel Rawlins* 
position, and a distant one from the heights of Morrisa- 
nia, on the line occupied by Colonel Cadwalader ; the 
former with the view of facilitating the attack on that 
point, by three thousand Hessians ; the latter, to favour 



200 



ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 



the approach of Lord Percy with one thousand six hun- 
dred men. 

" At ten o'clock in the morning, a large body of the 
enemy appeared on Haerlem Plains, preceded by their 
field-pieces, and advanced with their whole body, towards 
a rocky point of the height, which skirted the plains in 
a southern direction from the first line, and at a consider- 
able distance from it — and, commencing a brisk fire on 
the small work constructed there, drove out the party 
which held it, consisting of twenty men, and took pos- 
session of it : the men retiring with the picquet guard to 
the first line. The enemy, having gained the heights, 
advanced in column, on open ground, towards the first 
line ; whilst a party of their troops pushed forward, and 
took possession of a small unoccupied work in front of 
the first line ; from whence they opened their fire with 
some field-pieces and a howitzer upon the line, but with- 
out effect. When the column came within proper dis- 
tance, a fire from the six-pounder was directed against 
it ; on which the whole column inclined to their left, 
and took post behind a piece of woods, where they re- 
mained. As it was suspected that they would make an 
attempt on the right of the line, under cover of the wood, 
that part was strengthened. 

" Things remained in this position for about an hour 
and a half, during which interval, General Washington, 
with Generals Putnam, Greene, Mercer, and other 
principal officers, came over the North river from Fort 
Lee, and crossed the island to Morris's house ; from 
whence they viewed the position of our troops, and the 
operations of the enemy in that quarter. Having re- 
mained there a sufficient time to observe the arrange- 
ment that had been made for the defence of that part of 



ACCOUNT OF Tim BATTLE. 



201 



the island, they retired by the way they came, and re- 
turned to Fort Lee, without making any change in the 
disposition of the troops, or communicating any new or- 
ders. It is a fact, not generally known, that the British 
troops took possession of the very spot on which the 
commander-in-chief, and the general officers with him, 
had stood, in fifteen minutes after they left it. 

" Colonel Rawlins was some time late in the morning 
attacked by the Hessians, whom he fought with great 
gallantry and effect, as they were climbing the heights ; 
until the arms of the riflemen became useless, from the 
foulness they contracted from the frequent repetition of 
their fire. From this incident, and the great superiori- 
ty of the enemy, Colonel Rawlins was obliged to retire 
into the fort. The enemy having gained the heights, 
immediately pushed forward towards the fort, and took 
post behind a large store-house, within a small distance 
of it. 

" But to return to what passed at the first line towards 
New York. Intelligence having been received, by Co- 
lonel Cadwalader, that the enemy were coming down 
Haerlem river in boats, to land on his rear, he de- 
tached Captain Lenox with fifty men to oppose them, 
and, on further information, an hundred more, with 
Captains Edwards and Tudor. * This force, with the 
addition of about the same number from Fort Washing- 
ton, arrived on the heights, near Morris's house, early 
enough to fire on the enemy in their boats, t which was 



* The subalterns, under Captain Lenox, were Lieutenants Law- 
rence and Tilton, and Ensign M'lntyre — the others are unknown. 

f This body from the fort, from the testimony of an eye-wit- 
ness, and, by permission of the gentleman who furnishes the 



202 



ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 



done with such effect, that about ninety were killed and 
wounded. The great superiority, however, of the ene- 
my, (their numbers amounting to about eight hundred 
men,) prevailed over the bravery and good conduct of our 
troops, who, with some loss, retired to Fort Washing- 
ton. 

" This body of the enemy immediately advanced, and 
took possession of the grounds in advance of, and a little 
below, Morris's house, where some soldiers' huts had been 
left standing not far from the second line. This posi- 
tion of the enemy being observed, it was expected they 
would march down and take possession of the second 
line, (which, from the want of men, was entirely with- 
out defence,) and thereby place the troops, in the first 
line, between two fires. This important movement did 
not, however, take place ; owing, as was afterwards 
learned, to the apprehension they entertained, that the 
enclosed bastions concealed therein a number of men 
whose fire would greatly annoy them. They hesitated ; 
— and this being perceived from the delay that took 
place, Colonel Cadwalader, to avoid the fatal consequen- 
ces that must have resulted from the expected move- 
ment, immediately resolved to retire to the fort with the 
troops under his command \ and, as the measure requir- 
ed promptness and activity, he sent orders to the right 
and left of the line to move off towards Fort Washing- 
ton, on the signal being given ; which, after a proper 
interval of time being made, the whole was put in mo- 
tion, (those on the left retiring obliquely towards the 



account, I am authorized to state, did not arrive so early ; neither 
was it engaged. It consisted of the Flying Camp, and could not 
be brought into action. 

12 



ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 



centre of the second line,) passed the second line, and, 
when they came opposite to the body of the enemy 
posted at the huts, received their fire, which was return- 
ed in an irregular manner ; and, pursuing the road which 
led to the fort, under the heights by the North river, 
arrived there with little or no loss. 

" The militia, under Colonel Baxter, posted on 
Haerlem river, were attacked by the British guards and 
light infantry, who landed on the island of New York, 
protected by the fire, from the work on the heights, on 
the opposite side of the river. A short contest ensu- 
ed ; but our troops, overpowered by numbers, and, 
leaving behind them Colonel Baxter, who was killed by 
a British officer as he was bravely encouraging his men, 
retired to the fort. The guards and light infantry then 
crossed the island to the heights on the North river, a 
little below the fort, under which, Colonel Cadwalader 
with his party, but a few minutes before, had passed in 
his way to the fort." 



204. 



AUTHORS PERILOUS SITUATION. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



The Author taken Prisoner — Conduct of British Officers and 
Soldiers — The Prisoners — Character of General Howe — 
Prisoners removed to New York. 

These things, or the greater part of them, had pro- 
bably passed before I had abandoned my station, taken, as 
already mentioned, in pursuance of orders for strength- 
ening the right. The line of intrenchment was too ex- 
tensive to be manned without leaving intervals. Some 
of these were large, and intervening hillocks cut off the 
communication in some parts ; otherwise the whole of 
us, under the command of Colonel Cadwalader, must have 
retreated at the same time* The first notice that I had 
of the intrenchment being given up was from an officer 
I did not know, posted at some distance from me, going 
off with his men. I called to him to know what he meant. 
He answered, that he was making the best of his way to 
the fort, as the rest of the troops had retreated long 
since. As I had no reason to doubt his veracity, I im- 
mediately formed my company, and began to retire in 
good order, which is more than I can say of my neigh- 
bour or his corps ; and, amidst all the chagrin I after- 
wards felt, that the events of the day had been so unpro- 
pitious to our glory, I had the satisfaction to reflect, 
that the men were always obedient, and ready to par- 
take of any danger their officers would share with them. 

4 



author's perilous situation, £05 

This, however, was but matter of inference ; since I ne- 
ver was attacked, though continually fronted by a strong 
force, and incommoded by their ordnance, though with- 
out being injured by it. After proceeding some hundred 
paces, I reflected that I had no orders for what I was do- 
ing ; and that, although I had no right to expect exact- 
ness, in a moment of such pressure, it was yet possible my 
movement might be premature. I knew nothing of what 
had passed in the centre, or of the enemy being master of 
the high grounds in my rear about Colonel Morris's house, 
from whom, no doubt, had proceeded the cannon-balls 
that whizzed by us ; and for which, coming in that di- 
rection, I could not account. To be entirely correct in 
my conduct, I here halted my men, and went myself to 
a rising ground at some distance, from which I might 
have a view of the lines where Colonel Cadwalader had 
been posted. They seemed thoroughly manned ; and 
at the instant, I beckoned to the officers to march back 
the company, which they immediately put in motion, 
but looking more attentively, I perceived that the people 
I saw were British and Hessian troops, that were eager- 
ly pressing forward. Upon this I hastened back to my 
party, and as there was no time to be lost, being in a si- 
tuation to be cut to pieces by a corps of cavalry, I order- 
ed them, under the command of my ensign, to make the 
best of their way and join the body of men, which none 
doubted being our own, on the heights beyond the inner 
lines, and that I would follow them as fast as I could, for 
I was a good deal out of breath with the expedition I 
had used in going to and returning from the ground, 
which gave me a view of the outer lines. I accordingly 
walked on, accompanied by Forrest, who did not choose 
to leave me alone. Edwards was not with me, having 



206 



AUTHOR TAKEN PRISONER. 



been promoted to the command of a company, and em- 
ployed as already mentioned. The body I had pointed 
to and directed my company to join, under the idea of 
their being our own men, turned out to be the British, 
consisting of Colonel Stirling's division of Highlanders, 
a circumstance that was not at first perceived on account 
of the distance ; nor, owing to the smoke of an irregu- 
lar fire which they kept up, and the intrenchment in 
which they were posted covering them to the breast, was 
it manifest until we got pretty near them. Upon this 
discovery, we held a moment's consultation, and the re- 
sult was, that, hemmed in as we were on every side, there 
was no chance of escaping, and that there was nothing 
left but to give ourselves up to them. Had we been 
aware at first of their being the enemy, we might have 
eluded them by shaping our way along the shore of the 
Hudson, as my men, soon discovering who they were, 
had done ; but in full confidence that they were our 
people, I bent my course in the opposite direction to the 
main body, in the view of meeting Colonel Cadwalader 
there, and taking his further orders. Thus circum- 
stanced, we clubbed our fusees in token of surrender, 
and continued to advance towards them. They either 
did not, or would not, take the signal ; and though there 
were but two of us, from whom they could not possibly 
expect a design to attack, they did not cease firing at us. 
I may venture to say, that not less than ten guns were 
discharged with their muzzles towards us, within the dis- 
tance of forty or fifty yards ; and I might be nearer the 
truth in saying, that some were let off within twenty. 
Luckily for us, it was not our riflemen to whom we 
were targets ; and it is astonishing how even these blunt 
shooters could have missed us. But as we were ascend- 



HIS SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT. 807 

ing a considerable hill, they shot over us. I observed 
they took no aim, and that the moment of presenting and 
firing was the same, As I had full leisure for reflection, 
and was perfectly collected, though fearful that their de- 
sign was to give no quarter, I took off my hat with such 
a sweep of the arm as could not but be observed, without 
ceasing, however, to advance. This had the intended ef- 
fect : A loud voice proceeded from the breastwork, and 
the firing immediately ceased. An officer of the 42d 
regiment advanced towards us, and as I was foremost, he 
civilly accosted me by asking me my rank. Being inform- 
ed of this, as also of Forrest's, he inquired where the 
fort lay, and where Colonel Magaw was. I pointed in 
the direction of the fort, and told him I had not seen 
Colonel Magaw during the day. Upon this, he put us 
under the care of a serjeant and a few men, and left us. 
The serjeant was a decent-looking man, who, in taking 
us into custody, bestowed upon us, in broad Scotch, the 
friendly admonition of, Young men, ye should never 
fight against y our king. The little bustle produced by 
our surrender was scarcely over, when a British officer 
on horseback, apparently of high rank, rode up at full 
gallop, exclaiming, What! taking prisoners 1 Kill them, 
kill every man of them. My back was towards him 
when he spoke; and although by this time there was 
none of that appearance of ferocity in the guard, which 
would induce much fear that they would execute his 
command, I yet thought it well enough to parry it, and 
turning to him, I took off my hat, saying, Sir, I put 
mysef under your protection. No man was ever more 
effectually rebuked. His manner was instantly soften- 
ed : He met my salutation with an inclination of his bo- 
dy, and after a civil question or two, as if to make 



208 



HIS SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT. 



amends for his sanguinary mandate, he rode off towards 
the fort, to which he had inquired the way. 

Though I had delivered up my arms, I had not ad- 
verted to a cartouch-box which I wore about my waist, 
and which, having once belonged to his Britannic Majes- 
ty, presented in front the gilded letters G. U. Exas- 
perated at this trophy on the body of a rebel, one of the 
soldiers seized the belt with great violence, and in the at- 
tempt to unbuckle it, had nearly jerked me off my legs. 
To appease the offended loyalty of the honest Scot, I 
submissively took it off and delivered it to him, being con- 
scious that I had no longer any right to it. At this 
time a Hessian came up. He was not a private, neither 
did he look like a regular officer \ he was some retainer, 
however, to the German troops ; and was as much of a 
brute as any one I have ever seen in the human form. 
The wretch came near enough to elbow us ; and half un- 
sheathing his sword, with a countenance that bespoke a 
most vehement desire to use it upon us, he grinned out 
in broken English, Eh, you rebel, you dam rebel ! I 
had by this time entire confidence in our Scotchmen ; 
and therefore regarded the caitiff with the same indiffer- 
ence that I should have viewed a caged wild beast, though 
with much greater abhorrence. 

These transactions, which occupied about ten minutes, 
passed upon the spot on which we were taken, whence 
we were marched to an old stable or* out-house, where 
we found about forty or fifty prisoners already collected, 
principally officers, of whom I only particularly recollect 
Lieutenant Brodhead of our battalion. We remained on 
the outside of the building, and, for nearly an hour, sus- 
tained a series of most intolerable abuse. This chiefly 
proceeded from the officers of the light infantry, for the 



HIS SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT. 



209 



most part young and insolent puppies, whose worthless- 
ness was apparently their recommendation to a service 
which placed them in the post of danger, and in the way 
of becoming food for powder, their most appropriate 
destination next to that of the gallows. The term rebel* 
with the epithet damned before it, was the mildest we re- 
ceived. We were twenty times told, sometimes with a 
taunting affectation of concern, that we should, every man 
of us, be hanged ; and were nearly as many times paraded 
with the most inconceivable insolence, for the purpose 
of ascertaining whether there were not some deserters 
among us ; and these were always sought for among 
the officers, as if the lowest fellow in their army was 
fit for any post in ours. " There's a fellow," an upstart 
cockney would exclaim, " that I could swear was a de- 
serter." — " What countryman are your, Sir ? Did you 
not belong to such a regiment ?" — I was not, indeed, 
challenged for a deserter ; but the indignity of being or- 
dered about by such contemptible whipsters for a moment 
unmanned me, and I was obliged to apply my handker- 
chief to my eyes. This was the first time in my life that 
I had been the victim of brutal, cowardly oppression, and 
I was unequal to the shock ; but my elasticity of mind 
was soon restored, and I viewed it with the indignant 
contempt it deserved. 

For the greater convenience of guarding us, we were 
removed from this place to the barn of Colonel Morris's 
house, already mentioned, which had been the head- 
quarters of our army, as it now was of the royal one. 
This was the great bank of deposit for prisoners taken 
out of the fort, and already pretty well filled. It was a 
good new building, and we were ushered into it among 
the rest, the whole body consisting of from a hundred and 



210 



STATE OF PRISONERS. 



fifty to two hundred, composing a motley group to be 
sure. Here were men and officers of all descriptions, re- 
gulars and militia, troops continental and state, some in 
uniforms, some without them, and some in hunting shirts, 
the mortal aversion of a red coat. Some of the officers 
had been plundered of their hats, and some of their coats ; 
and, upon the new society into which we were intro- 
duced, with whom a showy exterior was all in all, we 
were certainly not calculated to make a very favourable 
impression. I found Captain Tudor here, of our regi- 
ment, who, if I mistake not, had lost his hat. It was here 
also that, not long after, I saw Ensign Steddiford, of 
our regiment, at a little distance, at large, and in close 
conference with Major Skene. So friendly an inter- 
course between a British officer and a rebel was so strik- 
ingly in contrast to the general insolence I had received, 
and was still treated with, that it baffled every hypothesis 
1 could frame to account for it. But it was afterwards 
explained by Steddiford. The garrison had capitulated - y 
and Skene, being desirous to walk to this part of the 
field, had proposed to Steddiford to accompany him, ob- 
serving, with the frankness and circumspection of an old 
soldier, that each would be a safeguard to the other. 
" I," says he, " shall protect you from our men, and 
you will protect me from yours, should there be any of 
either lurking in the woods, and disposed to hostility. " 
Shortly after, it was announced, by an huzza, that the 
fort had surrendered. This, I think, was about two 
o'clock. 

The officer who commanded the guard, in whose cus- 
tody we now were, was an ill-looking, low-bred fellow, of 
this dashing corps of light infantry. Had dates accord- 
ed, he might have been supposed the identical scoundrel 



VISITS TO PRISONERS — TREATMENT. 



211 



that had sat for the portrait of Northerton, in Fielding's 
Tom Jones. As I stood as near as possible to the door, 
for the sake of air, the enclosure in which we were being 
extremely crowded and unpleasant, I was particularly ex- 
posed to his brutality ; and, repelling with some severity 
one of his attacks, for I was becoming desperate and care- 
less of safety, the ruffian exclaimed, Not a word, Sir, 
or, damme, I'll give you my butt, at the same time club- 
bing his fusee, and drawing it back as if to give the blow. 
I fully expected it, but he contented himself with the 
threat. I observed to him, that I was in his power, and 
disposed to submit to it, though not proof against every 
provocation. 

As to see the prisoners was a matter of some curiosity, 
we were complimented with a continual succession of visit- 
ants, consisting of officers of the British army. There 
were several of these present, when a serjeant-major came 
to take an account of us ; and, particularly, a list of such 
of us as were officers. This serjeant, though not uncivil, 
had all that animated, degagee-impudence of air, which 
belongs to a self-complacent non-commissioned officer of 
the most arrogant army in the world 5 and with his pen in 
his hand and his paper on his knee, applied to each of us, 
in turn, for his rank. He had just set mine down, when 
he came to a little squat militia officer from York county, 
who, somewhat to the deterioration of his appearance, had 
substituted the dirty crown of an old hat, for a plunder- 
worthy beaver that had been taken from him by a Hes- 
sian. He was known to be an officer from having been 
assembled among us for the purpose of enumeration. 
You are an officer, Sir ? said the serjeant. Yes, was 
the answer. Your rank, Sir ? with a significant smile. 
I am a keppun, replied the little man in a chuff firm tone. 



212 



VISITS TO PRISONERS TREATMENT. 



Upon this, there was an immoderate roar of laughter 
among the officers about the door, who were attending to 
the process ; and I am not sure I did not laugh myself* 
When it had subsided, one of them, addressing himself to 
me, observed, with a compliment that had much more of 
sour than sweet in it, that he was really astonished that I 
should have taken any thing less than a regiment. To 
remove as much as possible the sting of this sarcastic 
thrust at our service, for, I must confess, I was not suffi- 
ciently republican to be insensible of its force, I told him, 
that the person who had produced their merriment be- 
longed to the militia, and that, in his line, as a farmer, 
he was no doubt honest and respectable. 

Although the day was seasonably cool, yet, from the 
number crowded in the barn, the air within was oppres- 
sive and suffocating, which, in addition to the agitations 
of the day, had produced an excessive thirst ; and there 
was a continual cry for water. I cannot say that this want 
was unattended to : the soldiers were continually admi- 
nistering to it by bringing water in a bucket. But, though 
we, who were about the door, did well enough, the sup- 
ply was very inadequate to such a number of mouths ; and 
many must have suffered much. Our situation brought 
to my recollection that of Captain Holwell and his party 
in the Black Hole at Calcutta ; and had the weather been 
equally hot, we should not have been much better off. 
The fellow who had menaced me with his butt stood with 
his fusee across the door, and kept us closely immured. I 
did not choose to ask favours of him ; but addressing my- 
self to the officers without the door, who had been put in 
good humour by their laugh at our poor militia captain, 
I asked them, if they made no distinction between officers 
and privates. Most certainly we do, said one of them. I 



MAJOR MAITLAND. 



then observed, that it would be very agreeable to us to be 
somewhat separated from them now, and to receive a lit- 
tle fresh air. Upon this the sentinels were withdrawn to 
the distance of about ten or twelve feet from the building; 
and we were told, that such of us as were officers might 
walk before the door. This was a great relief to us, as 
well as to the men in giving them more room. 

As I was walking here, a gentleman, who, I was after- 
wards informed, was Major Maitland,of the 71st, I think, 
came up and entered into conversation with me. He had 
one arm in a sling, and it appeared to me he had lost a 
hand. He regretted the extremes to which matters had 
been carried, and touched upon our infatuation, as he term- 
ed it, in attempting resistance to the power of Britain. He 
assumed the unqualified justness of her cause, and the con- 
sequent unjustness of ours 5 and, adverting to the day's 
business, he observed, that I must be aware, that, as we 
were taken by storm, (speaking of myself and the other 
prisoners here collected,) our lives were forfeited by the 
laws of war, and that we might have been put to the sword, 
without any just impeachment of their humanity ; but 
such, added he, is the clemency of the British nation, that 
we have not availed ourselves of the right, but shall, on 
the contrary, treat you with every indulgence. This was 
delivered in the tone of a lecture which precludes the ne- 
cessity of a reply. Accordingly, I gave it none ; and, as 
the manner was mild and well intended withal, I receiv- 
ed it in good part : as civility was a rarity, the value of 
this attention was proportionably enhanced and duly ap- 
preciated. The major confirmed to me the surrender of 
the fort, which I had at first doubted, though I can hard- 
ly tell why. I certainly never had the expectation that 
it could have held out long : and I cannot here forbear 



REFLECTIONS ON THE DEFEAT. 



remarking, that its incapacity for defence is unequi- 
vocally recognised by General Washington in his offi- 
cial letter to Congress. " I sent," says he, " a billet 
to Colonel Magaw, directing him to hold out, and I 
would endeavour, in the evening, to bring off the garri- 
son, if the fortress could not be maintained, as I did not 
expect it could, the enemy being possessed of the adja- 
cent ground." Now, had the attempt been to defend 
the fort alone, instead of its environs, which had consti- 
tuted the post of the main army, this effect of the ene- 
my's possessing the adjacent ground would at once have 
taken place, and the fort have been untenable. The 
fort then was not calculated upon as the point to be de- 
fended ; but it was the position in the open field. 
Hence, we were improperly termed a garrison ; and two 
thousand men, of which half were militia, were pitted 
against the whole of the British army. For seven thou- 
sand troops were actually employed in the attack, and 
the rest ready to support them. It was certainly enough 
then, that we fought them, and withstood their efforts 
until noon. Because posts had been evacuated ; because 
Long Island, New York, Kingsbridge, and White 
Plains, had successively been found untenable by the 
concentrated force of the continent, this handful was to 
apologize to the country for the supposed disgrace of 
our arms, and the defective constitution of our military 
system. As " the troops were in high spirits, and 
would make a good defence," * why e'en let these 
southern men, say Generals Putnam and Greene, take 



* See General Washington's letter, above alluded to, which 
shows that the defence, or evacuation of the post, rested on the dis- 
cretion of General Greene. 



REFLECTIONS ON THE DEFEAT. SI 5 

the glory of it to themselves : Whatever be their fate, 
they will kill a good number of the enemy ; and des- 
perate expedients are adapted to the declining state of 
our cause. These, it is true, were dashing counsels : 
Nevertheless, to those acquainted with the unfriend- 
ly, repulsive temper which prevailed between the 
southern and eastern troops, and the selfish, clannish 
spirit, testified on all occasions by the latter, * there 
would be nothing very revolting in the imputation of 
such motives ; in which, also, the historian in the 
Annual Register might find a clue to the solution of 
the enigma, why an operation on so large a scale should 
have been committed to but a colonel. It was, at any 
rate, a current opinion among us who were taken, that 
we had been sacrificed to selfish feeling ; nor, upon a 
cool consideration of all the circumstances, after a lapse 
of four-and-thirty years, can I see full cause to renounce 
that opinion. I do not believe, at least, that if we had 
been New England men, we should have been left there. 
If Greene really knew no better at this era, he was 
deeply instructed by his error j since, whatever were the 
characters of his subsequent generalship, it never dis- 
closed symptoms of rash audacity. 

But I must not forget I am a captive. Among the 
events of the afternoon was the meeting with a Captain 
Wilson, of the light infantry, who called to inquire 
whether there were any gentlemen among us from Phi- 
ladelphia. Upon telling him that I was, he asked me 
if I knew Mr Philip Wilson, a merchant of that city. 



* One instance of it was a partial exchange of prisoners, con- 
tinually carried on in favour of the eastern officers, to the cruel dis- 
couragement of the southern. 



216 



AUTHOR MEETS WITH KIND TREATMENT. 



I told him I had a slight acquaintance with him, as also 
with his brother Edward. " They are both/' says he, 
" brothers of mine, and though I detest their principles," 
he was obliged, perhaps, to go further on this point than 
a refined politeness might warrant, on account of his 
brother officers and soldiers standing by, "I shall be 
happy to render you every service in my power." He 
then minuted my name and rank on his tablets as he did 
Tudor's, for the same reason of knowing his brothers ; 
and told us he would do himself the pleasure of calling 
upon us in New York. He informed us, also, that he 
had seen Major West, Captain Lenox, I think, and 
some others of our friends at the fort, who had been in- 
quiring for us. During the remainder of the day, if I 
except a sight of General Howe, who was pointed out to 
me at a little distance, and the burning of a pretty large 
brick house hard by, which happened, as the soldiers 
told us, through the carelessness of some grenadiers in 
cooking beef-steaks, nothing occurred of any conse- 
quence : But, in the evening, a most advantageous 
change took place, and, from the custody of a low ruf- 
fian, we were transferred to that of a gentleman. 

This was Lieutenant Becket, to the best of my recol- 
lection of the 27th or 87th regiment. Upon taking the 
guard in the evening, he expressed concern about our 
lodging, and proposed to us to accompany him into the 
barn-loft to see whether that would do. He was also 
attended by some of his brother officers. We ascended 
by a very good step ladder, and found a spacious room, well 
roofed and floored, and clear of lumber. This, gentlemen, 
I think, may do, said he ; I dare say, you have some- 
times lodged in a worse place- That we had, we told 
him, and that this was as comfortable as we could desire. 



CONTRAST BETWEEN AMERICANS AND BRITISH. 217 

I will send you, if I can, said he, at going away, a bottle 
of wine ; but, at any rate, a bottle of spirits, and as to 
the latter, he was as good as his word ; a soldier, in 
about a quarter of an hour, brought it to us, and this 
was our substitute for supper as well as dinner. In the 
morning, a little after sunrise, a soldier brought me Mr 
Becket's compliments, with a request that 1 would come 
down and breakfast with him, bringing two of my 
friends with me, as he had not the means of entertain- 
ing more. I thankfully accepted his invitation, and 
took with me Forrest and Tudor. He was seated on a 
bench before the door, with a good fire before him, and 
the soldiers of the guard in a semicircle about him. 
Besides the bench, we were accommodated with a chair 
or two, and he gave us a dish of very good coffee, with 
plenty of excellent toast, which was the only morsel we 
had eaten for the last twenty-four hours; more fortu- 
nate in this than our fellow-sufferers, who got nothing 
until the next morning, when the first provisions were 
drawn. The soldiers were chatting and cracking their 
jokes on each other while we breakfasted ; and I was 
surprised at the easy familiarity which seemed to prevail 
between them and their officer. But it appeared to be 
perfectly understood betwen them, that their coteries, 
though so near each other as that every word from 
either might be heard by both, were yet entirely dis- 
tinct, and that each had an exclusive right to its own 
conversation; still they did not interrupt ours, being 
silent when we talked. The fact was, that Mr Becket 
was the darling of his soldiers ; and one of them told 
us, that we should find few men like him. I had here 
an opportunity to observe the striking difference be- 
tween their appointments and ours. While our poor 



218 



€HABACTEB OF GENERAL HOWE. 



fellows were some of them already ragged, and even 
the best of them clad in flimsy thread-bare clothes, with 
worse stockings and shoes, these were tight and com- 
fortable in body and limbs j and every soldier was ac- 
commodated with a woollen night-cap, which most of 
them had yet on. A sad contrast for the contemplation 
of the American soldier ! Wisdom is no less attribut- 
able to nations than to individuals ; and the British ar- 
my, if I may so express myself, is a sensible establish- 
ment, in which every possible regard is had to both 
comfort and safety. Though, in extremities, it may be 
the business of the soldier to die, it is not forgotten that 
he is to live if he can, consistent with his duty ; and to 
this consideration, it appears to me, much attention was 
paid by General Howe in his operations against our 
post. He could not have had a doubt that his attack 
would be successful, yet this was not enough : it must 
be conducted with an eye to the saving of men, and the 
purchasing it as cheap as possible. Had he immediate- 
ly advanced against our lines on the south, the loss of 
the British troops would, in all probability, have been 
heavy ; whereas, in making his principal effort by Haer- 
lem river under cover of his batteries, it was compara- 
tively small ; and when he had gained the high grounds 
in this quarter, he was at once master of the field. 

It has been said, that we could not have chosen a 
better adversary than General Howe ; and it is not im- 
probable that one more enterprising and less methodical 
might have pushed us harder. Yet, though he was in- 
dolent, often treated us with unnecessary respect ; and, 
in a too great security of his prey, might have meant to 
play us as an angler plays a fish upon his hook, I am 
still inclined to think, that, when he acted, he fought his 



KILLED AND WOUNDED. 



219 



army to advantage ; that his dispositions were good, 
and planned with much discretion. General Burgoyne 
bears testimony to the faultless propriety of his disposi- 
tion at Bunker's Hill ; and General Lee says, that, " in 
the capacity of an executive soldier, he was all fire and 
activity, brave and cool as Julius Caesar." In the affair 
of Fort Washington he must have had a perfect know- 
ledge of the ground we occupied. This he might have 
acquired from hundreds in New York ; but he might 
have been more thoroughly informed of every thing de- 
sirable to be known from one Dement, an officer of 
Magaw's battalion, who was intelligent in points of du- 
ty, and deserted to the enemy about a week before the 
assault. This man was probably an emissary from 
them ; he was a European, I recollect, and not origi- 
nally an officer of the corps ; his name, at least, is not 
among those appointed by the committee of safety. 

Our situation under Mr Becket was as agreeable as it 
could be made. The term rebel was entirely banished 
from our hearing. When speaking of the belligerents, 
it was your people and our people, and the manners of 
all about him took the tone he gave. His acquaintance, 
too, seemed of an order wholly different from the rake- 
hells we had seen yesterday ; nor do I recollect a single 
instance of incivility to any one of us, while under his 
care. But notwithstanding this, my heart was ill at 
ease. It was the prey of chagrin, and a most afflicting 
uncertainty. I was deeply mortified at the idea that we 
were disgraced in the eyes of our countrymen, with 
whom the belief was current, that Fort Washington was 
impregnable ; and the events of the action had been, 
moreover, peculiarly unpropitious to the fame of the con- 
tinental battalions from Pennsylvania. AH the glory 



220 



KILLED AND WOUNDED. 



that was going had, in my idea of what had passed, 
been engrossed by the regiment of Rawlins, which had 
been actively engaged, killed a number of the enemy, 
and lost many themselves ; and although it seldom, if 
ever happens, that there is close fighting in every part 
of a field, yet it is this alone which obtains eclat, or that, 
in the view of the world, escapes contempt. As to the 
merit of preserving a good countenance, being firm in a 
post, and only relinquishing it when no longer tenable, 
or expedient to be retained, it can only be appreciated 
by persons of military experience : It is at best but of a 
negative kind, and has nothing in it of brilliancy. * How 
many did they kill ? How many did they lose ? are the 
questions which produce the data on which martial fame 
is calculated ; and these were much against us. The 
number of British killed, by General Howe's account, 
was not large ; and the whole loss is fixed by Mr Sted- 
man at eight hundred, by much the greater part of 
which was sustained by the Hessians, who attacked 
Rawlins, in a post extremely difficult of access naturally, 
and rendered still more so by works and abbatis. In the 
two battalions of Cadwalader and Magaw, there were 
but two or three officers wounded, and one killed, or 
rather reputed killed, as I have recently understood that 
he survived his wounds, though very grievous, and was 
some years after living at Germantown. This was Cap- 
tain Miller, who, as already mentioned, was going to 



* I was not aware at this time, that detachments from our regi- 
ments had maintained a contest which entitled them to the praise 
of the enemy ; for, by the concurrent testimony of General Howe, 
and the historian Mr Stedman, the ground on which they fought 
was obstinately defended : And I have still so much of the esprit 
du corps and pride of a soldier about me, as to be gratified by the 
circumstance. 



KILLED AND WOUNDED. 



shoot a sentinel on Montezore's Island. Among the 
wounded was Captain Lenox, very slightly, and En- 
sign M'Intyre badly. As to myself, I was conscious I 
had done my duty, but this must remain unknown \ and 
I was unable to put aside the reflection, that we were 
both sacrificed and disgraced ; captive to an enemy whose 
system it was to treat us with contempt ; to stigmatize 
us as rebels, and load us with opprobrium ; and that all 
this was, probably, but a prelude to the impending ruin 
and subjugation of my country. In addition to these 
dismaying considerations, I thought my brother killed. 
I had intelligence from the fort that he was not there ; 
neither had any one seen him after he had left the in- 
trenchments ; though it was suggested, that a boat-load 
of the garrison that had been hard pressed had got over 
to Fort Lee, and that he might have been in it. There 
was also room to hope, that, if not among these, (admit- 
ting the circumstance of the boat's having gone over to 
be true,) he might be at the village of Haerlem ; in which, 
it was said, there was a small collection of prisoners. 
Being impatient to satisfy myself, and know the worst, I 
applied to Mr Becket for permission, if not improper, to 
go to Haerlem ; and, if not successful there, to traverse 
the field of action. He granted my request without he- 
sitation; but observed, it was proper I should have a sol- 
dier with me to protect me, and account for my being at 
large ; and, had he not been too polite, he might have 
added, to guard me, which, it would have been a ne- 
glect of duty in him not to have attended to. I went to 
Haerlem, but received no satisfaction. There were, in- 
deed, some prisoners there, in the custody of the Ger- 
man troops ; but they had neither seen my brother, nor 
heard any thing of him. I then returned, and took my 



CHARACTER OF MR BECKET. 



course, with my attendant, along the banks of Haer- 
lem river, where the action had been warm. With- 
in a few hundred yards of the barn in which we were 
quartered, I met with the bodies of three or four sol- 
diers of our battalion, who had fallen by musket-balls ; 
but obtained nothing in regard to the object of my pur- 
suit. Weary of the melancholy errand, and reflecting 
that the day would be insufficient to complete the search, 
I gave it up, with a determination to look as much as 
possible on the favourable side of things, and wait in pa- 
tience for the event. Some time after, Mr Becket, who 
took a friendly interest in the cause of my distress, ap- 
plied to a gentleman on horseback, who had superin- 
tended the interment of the dead, to know whether he 
had met with the body of an officer in the uniform I 
wore, as I was anxious for the fate of a brother, who was 
missing. With much delicacy, addressing himself to me, 
he replied, — " No, Sir, we buried no one with linen fine 
enough to have been your brother." This information, 
though not conclusive, was encouraging ; and the libe- 
rality of our present treatment, added to the fineness of 
the morning, though pretty sharp, gave a fillip to my 
spirits, and a more pleasing turn to my thoughts. The 
sun looked vastly brighter to my eyes than it had done 
an hour before ; and I began to flatter myself that mat- 
ters might not be so bad as, in a desponding moment, I 
had supposed ; that, ere long, we should be exchanged, 
and have an opportunity of retrieving the disgrace of 
our recent discomfiture. In this frame of mind, conver- 
sation took a more cheerful course, and I satisfied some 
of Mr Becket's inquiries respecting our affairs. He was 
particularly inquisitive as to the character of General 
Washington - % of whom, from misrepresentations, no 



CHARACTER OF MK BECKET. 



doubt, propagated for political purposes, he had received 
some very erroneous impressions. Appearing to think 
favourably of him as a soldier, and as to the exterior qua- 
lifications of a gentleman, he had yet understood that he 
was a man of desperate fortune, who, having wasted his 
own property, had also dissipated that of his wife, by 
play, and had now no resource but in war and confusion. 
I assured him that nothing could be farther from the 
truth than this idea ; and left him, I believe, convinced 
of his erron Though he spoke with much moderation of 
the contest, the merits of which were but glanced at, he 
seemed to entertain no doubts of the justice of the side 
on which his profession had placed him, as well as of our 
inability to withstand the power of the mother country. 
He was forcibly struck with the ill condition of our 
troops, the badness of their arms, and insufficiency, in 
every respect, of our appointments ; and observed, that 
a gentleman of our army required more than an ordinary 
degree of fortitude to take the field under such disad- 
vantages. 

The distinguished liberality of Mr Becket's deport- 
ment requires of me something more than a mere pass- 
ing remembrance. If my memory does not much de- 
ceive me, he told us he was an Irishman, and a married 
man. His figure was pleasing, rather manly than ele- 
gant ; tall, and, though not corpulent, indicative of a 
temperament inclining to fulness. His face was fine, and 
beamed with candour and benevolence. He might have 
passed for a man of twenty-eight or thirty, though he 
could not well have been less than thirty-five, having 
served, as he informed us, in the war of fifty-six, proba- 
bly in the latter part of it, and it lasted until sixty-three. 
He mentioned this circumstance in adverting to the 



224 



CHARACTER OF MR BECKET. 



cannonade of the preceding day, which he said had far 
exceeded in heaviness any he had ever heard in Ger- 
many, or in his life. He had been long in service, and 
appeared to be generally known and respected in the 
army ; being, indeed, eminently calculated to be beloved 
and admired ; and, so far as I could judge of him, from 
the acquaintance of a day, he possessed the qualities, 
which, with equal power, would have made him a Titus, 
and have given him a legitimate claim to the designa- 
tion of delicice humani generis. The command of the 
guard, in his mode of exercising the function, resembled 
a trust committed to him for our benefit ; and his con- 
duct bespoke the guardian rather than the gaoler. 

About noon, a young officer, smartly dressed and well 
mounted, rode up with his horse in a foam, and pulling 
out his watch, observed, that he had scarcely been an 
hour in coming from New York. He was a genuine, 
smooth-faced, fresh-coloured Englishman, and fron* the 
elegance of his horse, and self-importance of his man- 
ner, I supposed him to be a person of family and con- 
sideration. " Becket," said he, looking round him, 
" this is a damn'd strong piece of ground — ten thousand 
of our men would defend it against the world." — " I 
don't know that," returned Becket ; " the ground, to be 
sure, is strong in some parts, but you go too far : I would 
not undertake its defence against the world, I assure 
you." The conversation then passed to other topics, 
and the cavalier, after a few minutes, rode off to exhibit 
himself elsewhere. Several other incidents, equally un- 
important, occurred in the course of the day ; but one, 
that, from the substantial good which attended it at the 
time, I cannot omit : And this was, that from the table 
of General Jones, the officer of the day, with whom Mr 

8 



HUMANITY OF BRITISH OFFICERS. 225 

Becket dined, there came to me, about two o'clock, a 
plate or small dish of victuals amply supplied. The 
contents consisted of two or three slices of corned beef 
with cabbage, the leg and wing of a turkey, with bread, 
&c. in proportion. In the language of Lord Kaimes, 
" could peace afford a sweeter scene," than was exhibit- 
ed in the conduct of this kind, generous, noble-hearted 
gentleman ! To be admired, it only needs to be faith- 
fully depicted, and this is all my feeble pencil aims 
at. It consisted of a series of attentions, as delicate as 
they were friendly, of which the following is an ad- 
ditional instance. In the evening we were drawn up 
for the purpose of being marched a part of the way 
towards New York. Being formed in the usual man- 
ner, in two ranks, with the officers on the right, in 
order to be foremost when faced for the march, our 
commander took his station in front, and gaily flourish- 
ing a switch which he held in his hand, with a kind of 
apologetic smile for the liberty he was taking with us, 
" Come, gentlemen," said he, " we are all soldiers," 
(combining us with his own men, enclosing us in two lines ; 
and who, at the same time, received the word of com- 
mand,) Tolhe right face ; then giving the word March, 
he good humouredly walked along with us, without los- 
ing sight, however, of the decorum which actual duty re- 
quired. When we had proceeded about half a mile, we 
were halted, for the purpose, as I afterwards found, of 
relieving the guard. As we stood here, an officer, wrap- 
ped up in a camblet cloak, young, and of a very pleasing 
address, who had been talking with Becket, came up tome, 
observing, that the evening was very cool, and asked, if 
such weather was usual with us at this season of the year. 
I told him it was not unusual in the latter part of No- 

p 



226 PRISONERS MARCHED TO NEW YORK. 

vember. After an observation or two on this topic, he 
expressed his hope that I had been well treated. As 
well as possible, 1 replied, by some, and as ill by others. 
" I am extremely sorry for it," said he, " but there are 
rascals in all services." Soon after Mr Becket informed 
us that he was about to leave us, telling me that he would 
make it a point to obtain information respecting my 
brother, and that he would not fail to acquaint me with 
the result in New York ; then bringing up Captain Ma- 
nuel, the person who was to succeed him, he introduced 
me to him, with a particular recommendation of me to his 
care, and wished us a good evening. 

Under the command of Captain Manuel we continued 
our march until within six or seven miles of New York. 
We were here quartered very comfortably for the night, 
in the back part of a vacant house, of which Mr Manuel 
took to himself the front. Although he had not the 
amenity and ease of manners so eminently possessed by 
his predecessor, he far outwent him in ceremonious civi- 
lity ; and, in one or two interviews I had with him, he al- 
most overwhelmed me with bows. It would be unjust, 
however, not to say, that his usage of us was unexception- 
able, though we were not much favoured with his com- 
pany. Here, for the first time, we drew provisions for 
the almost famished prisoners, in which number, the read- 
er knows, I have no right to include myself, and one or 
two of my friends ; and it was politely referred to me, as 
the eldest officer in the company, to put my name to the 
provision return, made out also by ourselves. In the 
morning early the rest of the prisoners from the fort and 
Haerlem village had come on ; and, being all assembled, 
we took up the line of march preparatory to our untriumph- 
al entry into the city of New York. From the circumstance 



OCCURRENCES ON THE ROAD. 



227 



of our being most advanced, we had the honour of form- 
ing the van of the procession, strung out to a great length, 
between a line of British infantry on either side. Captain 
Manuel, from an effect of the arrangements, had now 
ceased to accompany us ; instead of whom, we, in front, 
were escorted by a Captain Warren, a young Irishman, 
of the Inniskillen regiment. He was not uncourteous or 
disobliging ; and was extremely prompt in attending to 
the want of drink, which sometimes occurred upon the 
road, on these occasions offering the contents of his can- 
teen to mix with the water that was brought us. But he 
was somewhat too lavish of the term rebel, extremely of- 
fensive to my ear, I must confess, however appropriate it 
might be. In the English language it is too much inter- 
woven with the idea of state criminality, to be other than 
highly opprobrious. It might be doubted, nevertheless, 
whether, in the mouth of Captain Warren, it had its full 
malignity ; and whether its adoption was not less owing to 
a design to stigmatize, than to the insufficiency of his vo- 
cabulary. He was fond of chatting, and, I might add, 
of boasting of the prowess of the British troops, whom he 
took occasion to compare with ours. I told him that I 
had often seen them before, and admitted that they were 
well dressed and well armed, to which circumstances 
might perhaps be owing their apparent advantage over 
ours. He took what I said in good part ; and what is a 
proof that he ought to be excepted from the real scoun- 
drels in the British service is, that, some time afterwards, 
meeting him in the street at New York, he stopped me, 
and behaved with an entirely correct civility. 

On the road, as we approached the city, we were be- 
set by a parcel of soldiers' trulls and others, who came out 
to meet us. It was obvious, that, in the calculation of 



228 GENEROUS TRAIT OF A HIGHLANDER. 

this assemblage of female loyalty, the war was at an end ; 
and that the whole of the rebel army, Washington and all, 
were safe in durance. Which is Washington ? Which 
is Washington ? proceeded from half a dozen mouths at 
once ; and the guard was obliged to exert itself to keep 
them off. Some of them assailed us with vollies of Bil- 
lingsgate ; and Colonel Maxwell, who rode along side of 
us, and whom I immediately recognised for a Captain 
Maxwell who had once lodged at my mother's, had 
enough to do to silence one of them, calling out repeat- 
edly, " Away with that woman ! Take her away ! Knock 
her down, the bitch ! Knock her down !" 

Previously to entering the city, we were drawn up, for 
about an hour, on the high ground near the East river. 
Here, the officers being separated from the men, we were 
conducted into a church, where, if I mistake not, we sign- 
ed a parole. While in this building, which, with the ad- 
dition of those spectators who pressed in along with us, 
was pretty much crowded, a portly, well-looking, middle- 
aged, non-commissioned officer of the 42d regiment, ap- 
proached me, observing, in a low voice, that he was sure 
he had seen me before : Was not my name ? I an- 
swered in the affirmative. I thought so, said he, I have 
often seen you at your mother's in Philadelphia ; and 
though you were then but a boy, I clearly retrace your 
features. As you are probably in want of money, may I 
beg of you to accept of this ? slipping into my hand a dol- 
lar. I objected to taking it, as I might never have an 
opportunity of repaying him. No matter if you have 
not, said he ; it is but a trifle, but such as it is, you can- 
not oblige me more than by accepting it. I according- 
ly put it in my pocket, the confusion and bustle of the 
scene preventing my taking measures for ascertaining 



DISPOSAL, OF THE PRISONERS. 



229 



the means of seeing him again ; and, having never after- 
wards met with him, I am still indebted to this amount, 
together with the gratitude that is inseparable from it, 
to this worthy, generous man, whose memory, it seems, 
was better than that of Colonel Stirling, Captain Grant, 
and many others, who had better means of recollection 
than this Serjeant. They did not see me, it is true ; 
and, if they had, they were doubtless too much in the 
Bute system of politics, to have any charity for our re- 
bellion, or one engaged in it. But Mr Stirling, when 
a captain, I always thought a haughty, self-important 
man, too intent on things above him to cast a glance at 
those beneath ; and, whether correct or not in this opi- 
nion, having, in truth, no right to expect any thing from 
him or his clan, I was not disappointed ; nor should I 
have thought of taking; notice of them, had not the dis» 
loyal officiousness of their serjeant somehow prompted 
my pencil to give them a nook in the back-ground. 

I ought before to have mentioned a visit from a Mr 
Johnson of Georgia, who had been my fellow pupil at 
Pike's fencing- school. Whether it was on the day, or 
the day after we were taken, I do not remember, but 
Johnson, whose politics I had not before known, was, I 
found, a staunch government man, and invested with a 
commission in the royal army. He appeared not dis- 
pleased at seeing me well, but was at no pains to conceal 
his exultation at our misfortune, and the prospect he 
thence derived of our being speedily subdued. Thus 
called upon, I bragged a little in my turn, though with a 
heart much less assured than his. 

Our men were confined in churches and sugar-houses, 
and quarters were assigned for us who were officers in 
the upper part of the town, in what was called The Holy 



830 officers'* quarters— baggage restored. 



Ground. But besides that it was not tout-a-faite hon- 
nete, or entirely correct, to become a charge to his Bri- 
tannic Majesty, after having presumed to resist his royal 
authority, I was somewhat apprehensive that his fare 
might not be the most sumptuous; and, therefore, 
though but with the single dollar in my pocket, which I 
owed to the bounty of the benevolent Highlander, I yet 
ventured to take boarding at four dollars per week. I 
knew that I had an excellent banker in Philadelphia, 
and that, if specie was to be procured, my good mother 
would take care to get it, and send it to me. The person 
with whom I boarded was a Mrs Carroll, who, under 
the protection of General Robertson, commandant of 
the town, was hardy enough to entertain rebels. She 
passed for the particular favourite of this gentleman ; 
and was sufficiently young and buxom to give probabili- 
ty to the imputation. She played her cards with much 
address, and bent her politics, if she had any, to her in- 
terest. She was, no doubt, Tory or Whig, as best suit- 
ed the company she happened to be in ; and, of course, 
with us was always the latter — shaping, accordingly, her 
news and her anecdotes, of which she picked up abun- 
dance when she went abroad, and detailed to us on the 
opening of the budget on her return. With due allow- 
ance for her influences and motives, we were flattered, 
and sometimes instructed by her communications. 
What led me to these quarters was the circumstance of 
some of the Pennsylvania officers taken on Long Island 
being already in them, viz. Colonels Atlee and Miles ; 
Major Burd, Captain Herbet, &c. There was also there 
a Mr Coursey, or De Courcey, of Smallwood's regiment ; 
and they now, besides myself, received the addition of 
Colonel Magaw, Major West, Captains Lenox and Ed= 



AUTHOR RECEIVES HIS TRUNK. 



231 



wards, and Dr M* Henry, who afterwards became a mem- 
ber of General Washington's family, and secretary of 
war. Colonel Cadwalader (through the interest of Ge- 
neral Prescott, who, when a prisoner with us, had been 
liberally treated by Dr Cadwalader, the father of the 
colonel) was immediately released, and went home on 
parole. 

From the number of her boarders, Mrs Carroll might 
be supposed to have a very large house, but this was not 
the fact. It was but an humble tenement in Queen's 
Street, of two stories, with two or three chambers : but 
adjoining it was a building, which, having been abandon- 
ed, we, at her instance, under the auspices of General 
Robertson, took possession of, and furnished with our 
own mattresses and blankets. Nothing was scarcer in 
New York this winter than fuel ; but, clubbing our 
weekly allowance of coal, we were enabled to supply for 
our hostess the parlour and kitchen fire. 

The next object of our cares was our baggage at Fort 
Washington. The security of that belonging to those 
taken in the fort was stipulated for on its surrender ; 
and although I could not claim the benefit of the capi- 
tulation, I did not doubt that mine, as a part of the 
mass, would fare as well as the rest. It chiefly consist- 
ed of a mattress and a trunk, in which was a bundle of 
letters, the fruits of an interesting correspondence, which 
had never been intermitted, from the time of my leaving 
Philadelphia, to that of my captivity ; and which 1 va- 
lued far beyond all my other possessions. They were 
now more precious than ever ; since all letters, to or from 
us, being subjected to inspection, the intercourse must 
cease ; and the reperusal of these must console me for 
the privation of recent communications. My anxiety, 



282 AUTHOR APPEARS IN REGIMENTALS. 

however, was soon removed, by the safe arrival by water, 
two or three days after our reaching New York, of my 
trunk and mattress. I lost, indeed, a fowling-piece, 
small sword, and some other articles ; but these were of 
little consequence ; and I thought myself supremely for- 
tunate in losing no more. The advantage of a change 
of clothes being by this time very desirable, I gladly 
availed myself of the contents of my trunk, which, be- 
sides linen, stockings, &c. afforded me a better suit of 
regimentals, and a newer hat than those I had on. As 
I saw no reason why I should not wear them, I put them 
on for the purpose of taking a walk through the city. 
My fellow lodgers, who had been taken on Long Island, 
being older and more prudent than myself, evinced some 
surprise at my temerity. To them I appeared much 
better dressed than rebel beseemed ; and they predicted 
the probability of insult and abuse, should I exhibit my- 
self in a trim so remote from the garb of humility ; for 
as to themselves, they had, with the exception of Colonel 
Atlee, and one or two more, exchanged their martial 
habiliments for plain clothes ; and even in these they 
rarely went out. Without regarding their sugges- 
tions, however, I sallied forth alone, and walked past 
the coffeehouse, down to the battery. Finding the 
gateway open, I entered it, and, after traversing it to its 
extremity, I strolled back again : almost every sentinel, 
to my great surprise, I must confess, handling his 
arms to me as I passed. Leaving the battery, I took a 
turn into another part of the town, and after a consider- 
able round, regained my lodgings, without having met 
with the smallest molestation. But I afterw r ards learn- 
ed from Mr Theophilact Bache, (of whom T shall have 
occasion to speak in the sequel,) that he well recollected 

12 



REFLECTIONS. 



233 



once seeing me pass the coffeehouse, probably at this 
very time ; and that he and some other gentlemen had 
been obliged to exert themselves to prevent some black- 
guards insulting me. This conduct of mine would seem 
to indicate an arrogance, or an apathy, that I can aver 
was not in my character. It was not a want of feeling, 
but an excess of it, which prompted me to the proceed- 
ing. Revolting against the design to treat us as state 
criminals, and to overwhelm us with the odium attached 
to that condition ; smarting, too, from the personal in- 
sults I had received, and in a state of cruel suspense re- 
specting my brother, the prevailing colour of which was, 
that he had been killed, my mind was slightly tinctured 
with that sombre enthusiasm, which exults in the oppor- 
tunity of setting persecution at defiance ; and which, in 
its excess, can subdue the strongest instincts of nature, 
as was evinced in the ferocious heroism of Charlotte 
Corday. 



PARDON OFFERED TO AMERICANS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Pardon offered to the Americans upon return to their Allegi- 
ance — Letter of General Washington — Sufferings of Pri- 
soners — General Lee taken — British Provost Marshal — 
Character of Colonel Allen — A partial Exchange of Prison- 
ers — American Officers removed to I^ong Island, 

One of the first measures of the Howes, in conse- 
quence of their late successes, was to issue a proclama- 
tion, tendering pardon to such as should renounce the 
cause of rebellion. I only recollect its general tenor, 
and that the proffered grace might have been spared. 
Not more than one or two, and, indeed, not one to my 
certain knowledge, embraced the invitation, although 
warmly recommended to us by Mr Commissary Loring. 
This was, no doubt, a matter both of surprise and mor- 
tification ; and one which, in no degree, tended to miti- 
gate the contemptuous rigour of our treatment. 

Mr Becket, it may be recollected, had promised to call 
upon me. He kept his word, and sought me at our allot- 
ted quarters on the Holy Ground. Not finding me there, 
or meeting with any one who could tell him where I 
lodged, he left a message for me, importing that, after the 
most diligent inquiry, he had not been able to learn any 
thing respecting my brother. Some time after, meeting 
in the street a serjeant who had belonged to his guard, 
I inquired for him, and was informed, that, very shortly 
after I had seen him, he had embarked for Rhode Is- 
land. 

i 



i 



AUTHOE HEAES FEOM HIS MOTHEE. 235 

Among the rare exceptions to the haughty demean- 
our of our lordly masters might be mentioned the oc- 
casional civility of Major Skene, who seemed, for him- 
self, to have adopted the conciliatory mode of conduct, 
and sometimes called to see us. Besides a slight ac- 
quaintance he had made with Colonels Atlee and Miles, 
he had, while in durance among us, contracted a sort of 
general acquaintance with the rebel character of Ame- 
rica ; and he appeared not to think very ill of it, not- 
withstanding its collision with the high pretensions of 
British supremacy, of which he was an unqualified vota- 
ry. He was a portly man, about forty or forty-five, 
apparently frank and good-humoured ; and so far was 
he from resenting the usage he had received from us, 
that he acknowledged he had been treated full as well as 
he had a right to expect, since he had made it a point to 
be as troublesome and vexatious as possible. 

Between two and three weeks had elapsed, when I re- 
ceived a letter from my mother. It was brought by a 
Captain Hesketh, of the British army, who had been a 
prisoner with us. It acquainted me he had money for 
me : but a piece of intelligence, of still greater conse- 
quence, was, that my brother was safe and at home. A 
boat had got over the Hudson, as I had heard, and to 
avoid falling into the hands of the enemy, by whom he 
had been closely pressed, he had put himself on board. 
Nothing now was wanting to make me as happy as my 
situation would admit. I waited upon Captain Hesketh, 
found him at home, and was very politely treated both 
by him and his lady, to whose notice I had been particu- 
larly recommended by Miss Amiel, of Philadelphia, a 
mutual acquaintance. Among other things, Mrs Hes- 
keth, who was the most communicative, informed me, 



236 LETTER OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 

that they had met General Washington on their road at 
the head of his army, which must, indeed, have been a 
small one ; though this unwelcome truth being spared, 
I had not the courage to elicit it by any questions. 
And this account agrees with a letter of the General to 
the board of war, dated Brunswick, the 30th of Novem- 
ber, wherein he speaks of having met with Captain 
Hesketh and his family. Of the same date, from the 
same person, and in his own hand, 1 shall now present 
the reader with a letter, which, considering the pressing 
situation of affairs, displays a mind at once superior to 
adversity, and alive to the impressions of humanity, and 
the feelings of private distress. It appears to be in an- 
swer to a letter from my mother, on hearing of my cap- 
tivity : — 

" Brunswick, 30th November I776. 
" Madam, — Your letter to your son (enclosed to 
me) went in the day after it came to my hands, by a flag 
which happened to be going to New York. 

" I am very sorry for the misfortune of your son's 
captivity, but these are accidents which must be expe- 
rienced and felt in war. Colonel Cadwalader, who has 
been suffered to return to Philadelphia, would be able 
to inform you of your son's health. Any hard money 
which you may be able to forward to me, or Mr Tilgh- 
man, (who is of my family,) shall be contrived to him 
by some means or other. 

" I am, Madam, 

" Your very humble servant, 

" Go: Washington." 



This letter is given verbatim as it is written, without 



AN OFFICERS' DINNER PARTY. 



presuming to supply what may be supposed an omission 
in the last line. The words to be sent, after the word 
contrived, appear to be wanting. Whether they were 
left out through inadvertence, or in compliance with an 
American mode of speaking, taken notice of by Dr Wi- 
th erspoon, in an essay, under the signature of A Druid, 
I shall not undertake to decide. I can only say, that if 
it is an Americanism, I never heard it before, and that it 
is not common in Pennsylvania. It is, however, per- 
fectly intelligible, and analogous to other contractions in 
the language of business. 

The letter spoken of by the General, as having been 
enclosed to him, and sent in by a flag, I did not receive 
until some time after that by Captain Hesketh. It had, 
probably, wandered out of its road into the hands of a 
British officer, of the same Christian and surname, as well 
as rank, as this gentleman told a lady of my acquaint- 
ance in Philadelphia, when General Howe afterwards 
got possession of it, that he had been fortunate enough 
to find a mother in this country, from whom he had re- 
ceived some very affectionate letters. 

It was about this time that I received a billet from 
Captain Wilson, already mentioned. It was equally 
addressed to Major West, Captain Tudor, and myself ; 
and stated, that a tour of duty into Jersey had been the 
cause of his not attending to us before ; and after apo- 
logizing for not waiting on us, for some cause or other, 
it requested our company to dine with him on the day 
but one after its date, in which case, he would send his 
servant to show us the way to his quarters. We under- 
stood, from his note, that he was fearful of paying his 
respects, personally, in the usual manner. It was, obvi- 
ously, the system of the British army to treat us as per- 



238 



A SINGULAR CHARACTER. 



sons, with whom to maintain an intercourse would, on 
their part, be both criminal and degrading ; and Wilson, 
from whatever cause, appeared more than ordinarily so- 
licitous to avoid any ground for suspicion of too much 
attention to us. West was indisposed, but Tudor and 
myself, for the sake of a little variety, waving etiquette, 
agreed to dine with him ; and, when the day came, 
were conducted to his house, or rather to his chamber, 
by a soldier. The dinner party was small, consisting, 
besides ourselves, only of our entertainer and a lieute- 
nant, whose name I have forgotten. He was a tall 
and stout young Irishman, who, by way of high recom- 
mendation, Wilson took an opportunity to inform me, 
was very brave ; and had killed, with his own hand, a 
captain of ours at White Plains. This I was, no 
doubt, to take as a compliment to myself, being as 
much as to say, I consider you as a brave man too, Sir, 
by supposing you capable of appreciating the quality in 
another, though even at the expence of your own side. 
This young Ajax, however, was modest and unassum- 
ing ; and both he and the captain acted in exact con- 
formity to that creed of a professional soldier, which, 
according to Lucan, is as old as the civil war of the 
first triumvirate, and contained in the declaration of 
Pompey's Generals, Afranius and Petreius, to Caesar, 
that 

War, with its own occasions, came unsought, 

And found them on the side for which they fought. 

The bottle was briskly circulated, and, in the course of 
the afternoon, there were several droppers in ; among 
others a curious little creature, who bore the commission 
of either a captain or a lieutenant. He had the appear- 



AN OFFICERS 1 DINNER PARTY. 



239 



ance of a youth not exceeding twenty, and was one of the 
smallest and lightest men I ever beheld; a genuine 
Master Slender, that might have been " made out of a 
cheese-paring after supper." If he weighed an hun- 
dred, it was much. From the conversation, in which 
he took his full proportion, it appeared that he had 
either a wife or a mistress ; for he complained that his 
lady, whom he called Betsey or Kitty, had grown vastly 
too fond of the pleasures of the town, and, by inference, 
somewhat too indifferent to himself. The circumstance, 
however, did not seem likely to break his heart ; and 
the less so from not being thought necessary to be 
locked up in that repository. He evinced, in another 
instance, not necessary to detail, that he was an utter 
stranger to the nicer feelings ; and from such a grace- 
less compend of premature debauchery being treated 
with some attention, I was induced to consider him as 
the degenerate offspring of some great sire. Another 
person, who joined us in the evening, appeared to be- 
long to the navy. He was probably a surgeon, captain 
of a transport, or something in that way, as, though he 
wore a cockade, he had no uniform. He was called 
upon for his toast. What have you been drinking? 
said he. Peace, reconciliation, and so forth, replied 
Wilson. But the fellow, either stupid or perversely 
malignant, gave, Confusion to the rebels. This pro- 
duced at least confusion in the company, which was ex- 
tremely disconcerted and hurt, our host in particular. 
Perceiving this, I determined to give the circumstance 
the go-by with the best possible grace ; and, therefore, 
with a silent contempt for the toast, I drank to Captain 
Wilson. He returned the compliment, and the other 
gentlemen bowing round the table without repeating 



240 TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 

the sentiment, it was only swallowed by the giver, who 
not long after took his leave. The general hilarity was 
soon restored in the true national style, which, without 
the " feast of reason," has certainly much of the " flow 
of soul f' and whatever a rigid policy might dictate else- 
where, it was wholly laid aside at this table. Tory or 
Whig, loyal or disloyal, was out of the question ; and 
about eight or nine o'clock Captain Wilson, putting us 
under the care of a soldier with a lantern in his hand, 
permitted us to depart, with full as much wine on board 
as in conscience was due to our slight acquaintance with 
his brothers in Philadelphia ; and thus, by a single act 
of Irish hospitality, he cancelled the obligation he had 
voluntarily imposed upon himself, of rendering us every 
service in his power. Something, however, was due to 
this gentleman for a treatment of us altogether liberal 
and obliging. 

But while, from the advantage of bearing commis- 
sions, we had the benefit of free air and the use of our 
limbs, our poor devoted soldiers were enclosed with- 
in walls, scantily supplied with provisions of bad quality, 
wretchedly clothed, and destitute of sufficient fuel, if, 
indeed, they had any. Disease was the inevitable con- 
sequence of such a situation ; and their prisons, of 
course, soon became hospitals. A fatal malady was ge- 
nerated 5 and the mortality, to every heart not steeled 
by the spirit of party, was truly deplorable. I once, and 
once only, ventured to penetrate into these abodes of hu- 
man misery and despair. But to what purpose repeat 
my visit, when I had neither relief to administer nor 
comfort to bestow ! What could I say to the unhappy 
victims who appealed to me for assistance, or sought my 
advice as to the alternative of death or apostacy ? For, 



TREATMENT OF PRISONERS, 



241 



until rendered worthless and unfit for military duty by 
disease, they might enlist, and thus rescue themselves 
from the sufferings that awaited them. I endeavoured 
to encourage them with the hope of an exchange, but 
humanity forbade my counselling them to rush on sure 
destruction : I rather chose to turn my eye from a scene 
I could not meliorate ; to put from me a calamity which 
mocked my power of alleviation. 

Our own condition, too, though a paradise to theirs, 
was becoming hopeless. To say nothing of the danger 
of legal punishment, it indicated a captivity without 
end, or at least commensurate with the war. To 
other existing obstacles a new one was added by the 
capture of General Lee, considered by General Howe as 
a deserter from the British army, and therefore not en- 
titled to exchange. Meanwhile the sternness of power 
was displayed with unabating rigour and systematic per- 
severance. In this scene of military despotism I some- 
times indulged my melancholy in an evening walk, 
when, imagination taking its flight to the shores of the 
Delaware, insensibly led my steps to the western part of 
the city. Having been the theatre of the late fire, it 
was marked by devastation j and as nothing is more 
congenial to the soul in gloom than to wander among 
ruins, 

What time the moon, in solemn splendour pours 
Long threads of silver through the gaping towers, 

it was the time I chose to take my solitary ramble 
through the deserted and dilapidated edifices of Broad- 
way. Here, amid the irregularly indented battlements 
which frowned in desolation, I meditated on the horrors 
of this guilty city, where " poor misfortune felt the lash 
of vice," and thousands of my unhappy countrymen 

Q 



242 



TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 



were perishing under the hand of proud unfeeling autho- 
rity : not poniarded, it is true, before the faces of their 
oppressors, nor murdered by the impious mockery of ju- 
dicial investigation, but remorselessly consigned to slow 
consuming tortures, equally fatal and potent to destruc- 
tion. In this, I admit, I speak the language of indig* 
nant feeling ; but unless the suffering of the American 
prisoners was the effect of dire necessity, the British na- 
tion should be less clamorous about the massacre of Jaf- 
fa, since the quality of her humanity, when compared with 
that of France, would be precisely that of Nero when con- 
trasted with Domitian's ; and, hence, the whitest, it must 
be granted, by a very few gradations. The former, as we 
are told by Tacitus, had the grace to avert his eyes from 
the enormities he ordained ; while those of the latter 
feasted on human agony, and noted down the sighs of 
those who dared to sympathize with the victims. Nero 
tamen subtract oculos ; jussitque scelera, non specta- 
*vit : prcecipua sub Domitiano miseriarum pars erat, 
videre et aspici; cum suspiria nostra subscriber entur. 

It is no grateful office to apologize for obduracy ; nor 
is it for the sufferers to seek excuses for the conduct of 
their oppressors. Justice, nevertheless, demands, that 
due consideration should be had for the situation of the 
invading army ; the scantiness of its limits ; its ability to 
guard its prisoners, and means of subsisting them ; nor 
would the bandaged deity, on a scrutiny, I fear, entirely 
hold guiltless the assertors of liberty and declared pro- 
tectors of the rights of man. By her own pitiable policy, 
the balance in an exchange of prisoners was miserably 
against Congress ; and her annual enlistments opposed a 
formidable bar to the most sacred duties, both of honour 
and humanity. But the heroic epoch of seventy-six had 



REFLECTIONS ON THE AMERICAN POLICY. 243 

its full leaven of selfishness ; and whether we appeal to 
our own or the French revolution, no two things will be 
found less alike than patriotism and philanthropy, how- 
ever it may be the fashion to speak of them as the same. 
When the great business is to raise an empire, or to save 
one, what care we for the welfare of a minute inconsider- 
able part ; and a part, too, not having the slightest rela- 
tion to ourselves ? In the scale of public utility, what 
comparison can there be between an ignorant mercenary 
soldier and an enlightened member of the grand nation- 
al council, whose precious neck might, peradventure, be 
" destined to the cord," * in case of an unprosperous is- 
sue to the contest ! It is for your Howards to " plunge 
into the infection of hospitals, to take guage and dimen- 
sions of misery, depression, and contempt it is for 
them " to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain, to 
remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected 
Congress had far higher concerns. Possibly, I go too 
far ; yet there were certainly prisoners in our hands, who, 
if not equal in amount to those in the hands of the ene- 
my, would, at least, have obtained a partial exchange ; 
perhaps, with proper management, the release of the 
whole of the men ; and the obstacle arising from the 
situation of Lee might have been restricted to the of- 
ficers. But this would not have done ; there was an 
ugly rub in the affair : the time of enlistment having 
expired, our men were no longer soldiers, while those of 
the enemy were still subject to command, and in a con- 
dition immediately to take the field. Is it not probable, 
therefore, that we ourselves may owe a little to the manes 
of our devoted countrymen ? But, should I still be 



* An expression of General Gage's, in some of his publications, 



244 MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO GENERAL HOWE. 

deemed censurable for the freedom of my observations, 
perhaps some of the letters of General Washington, 
whose discretion will not be questioned, might be brought 
to my aid. From these it might appear that the army 
was not always cherished with the most paternal care. 
Revolutions, however, are not the soil for any but the 
stoical virtues ; and, counting every life that was lost, all 
the vile plebeian carcases which have served to dress the 
hot-bed, so rankly teeming with ^oliticaljungi, is there 
a statesman of nerve, a hopeful pupil of the Montecello 
school, who would not say, that, upon every principle of 
political economy, our independence was cheaply pur- 
chased?* 

But the situation of the suffering soldiery was not un- 
attended to by their more fortunate officers ; and the 
means of relieving them were the subject of our daily 
consideration. The most obvious was, to present an ad- 
dress to Sir William Howe ; but it was suggested, that, as 
the condition of the men could not but be known to him, 
it was to be considered as designed ; and that, therefore, 
to state it might be deemed impertinent, and be, in ef- 
fect, injurious rather than beneficial to the end in view. 
This consideration, for a while, restrained any interfer- 
ence in their behalf ; but, at length, it was resolved that 
a representation should be made. A memorial was pre- 
pared, and signed by Colonels Magaw, Miles, and At- 



* A revolution in the aggregate is a no less glorious thing than a 
battle, but they both lose many of their charms on an analysis ; 
and this must account for the puny features of my narrative, when 
compared with the noble countenance of general history. It ought 
also to plead for me with those who may charge me with etalant 
au public noire misanthropie. 



SITUATION OF AMERICAN AFFAIRS. 245 



lee, and they appointed me to deliver it. I accordingly- 
repaired to head-quarters ; and meeting with some gen- 
tlemen of the family at the door, I presented it to them, 
with a request that it might be submitted, as soon as 
convenient, to the commander-in-chief. They promised 
it should be laid before him without delay, and inquired 
my name and rank, as the contents of the paper, not be* 
ing known, it might be supposed to relate to myself, and, 
at any rate, as, on the deliverer of a paper, there rests a 
certain degree of responsibility for its contents. 

As soon as we had obtained a supply of cash we equip- 
ped ourselves generally in plain clothes, in which we were 
less conspicuous, and, consequently, more at ease. There 
was a very large store kept by one Coffin ; in which, it 
was confidently said, Sir William Howe had a concern. 
From its containing the best assortment of goods, we 
gave it our custom ; and I accordingly called there one 
day to buy some cloth and other articles ; but, as my gold 
had been clipped, it could not be taken, and I left 
the store with an apprehension that my coin would be 
useless to me. Very soon after, however, Mr Coffin 
contrived to let me know that he had waved his objec« 
tion, and that my money would be received ; and, after 
this, I found myself a welcome customer for all of it I 
could spare. 

Although there must have been in New York a num- 
ber of refugees from Philadelphia, I presume they did 
not go much abroad, as I do not remember ever meeting 
one of them in the street ; and the only one who ventur- 
ed to call upon us was Colonel William Allen, already 
mentioned. He came to our lodging once or twice, in 
the evening. His situation was an extremely awkward 
one. In civil contests there seems no medium ; and 



£46 SITUATION OF AMERICAN OFFICERS. 

neither side will tolerate neutrals. Having borne arms 
with us, he had not the merit of an orthodox Tory with 
the British, neither had he any claim to the Whiggism 
of the day, having renounced the cause of independence, 
and associated his fortunes with those of the enemy. In 
this predicament, however exempt from personal animo- 
sity we might be, there could be nothing cordial or free 
in our intercourse ; it admitted only of a constrained 
and formal civility. I have little doubt, however, that 
Mr Allen's personal feelings were, at this time, more 
with us than his new friends. As I have infinitely more 
satisfaction in recollecting and recording acts of genero- 
sity than of intolerance, I cannot omit to note the atten- 
tion I received from Mr Heatheote Johnson, of Amboy. 
This gentleman used to spend a good deal of his time in 
Philadelphia, had lodged at my mother's, and conse- 
quently remembered me, though much younger than 
himself. Meeting him one day in the street, he stopped 
me, and in a very friendly manner invited me to spend a 
few weeks with him at Amboy. This I could on no 
account have consented to, had I been at liberty to leave 
New York ; but that not being the case, I availed myself 
of this restriction in declining his invitation. He replied 
that it might be got over, and that if I would favour him 
with my company, he had no doubt but that he had suf- 
ficient influence to obtain an extension of my limits. I 
was now obliged to decline his civility in more positive 
terms, though with a due impression of the liberality and 
kindness which had prompted it. 

Other attentions, of a character not wholly dissimilar, 
as coming from the royal side, we could well have dis- 
pensed with. These were from Captain Davenport and 
Colonel Houssacker, quondam Whigs, and officers of 



DESERTERS FROM THE CAUSE OF INDEPENDENCE. 247 

our army. The first, originally appointed a lieutenant 
in our regiment, had, by the promotion of two of our 
captains to the station of aids-de-camp, and of our ma- 
jor to the lieutenant-colonelcy of a new battalion, risen 
to the command of a company, as had also Tudor and 
Edwards, the latter already spoken of as my first lieuten- 
ant. This Davenport was an Irishman, who had been 
but a short time in Philadelphia ; but by means of good 
connections there, an air of the world, and a consummate 
degree of effrontery, he had obtained not only a commis- 
sion, but much consequence. He dressed well, and had 
a plausible exterior, but was found wholly destitute of 
honour and principle. After our retreat from Long 
Island, he remained in New York, either sick, or pre- 
tending to be so, and though repeatedly urged and com- 
manded to join the regiment, he staid there until the 
British took possession of it. He was certainly a volun- 
tary captive, if not a deserter ; and there can be little 
doubt that he had renounced our cause, and made his 
peace with the enemy. He notwithstanding came to see 
us, and wished to be sociable as formerly, affecting to 
consider himself as a prisoner, and alleging, in proof of 
it, his confinement in the provost prison, where I believe 
he had been a short time. We understood him, but, as 
we had no absolute certainty of his baseness, we did not 
think it necessary to discard him ; for as he frequented 
the coffeehouse, mixed with the British army and Tories, 
we often received intelligence through him, that we 
could not otherwise have obtained ; and as he cared as 
little for one side as the other, his only objects being 
whole bones and an adherence to the prevailing one, he 
had no temptation to deceive us. As to Houssacker, he 
had been originally commissioned a major of Wayne's 

10 



248 



AMERICAN PROSPECTS. 



battalion. He had, if I mistake not, been an adjutant 
of the Royal Americans, and was considered a capable 
disciplinarian. He was a German, or rather a man of 
no country or any country % a citizen of the world, a sol- 
dier of fortune, and a true mercenary. Thinking that 
our cause was going down rapidly, he saw no reason for 
adhering any longer to it ; but came over to the enemy 
in the season of our extreme adversity, though he did 
not reach us until after the affairs of Trenton and Prince- 
ton. Not liking the name of a deserter, he called him- 
self a prisoner, but certainly, if he was one, he had made 
much better terms than we had. He told us, however, 
that all was over ; and that General Washington was re- 
duced to the necessity of giving enormous bounties for 
only two or three weeks service 5 that by means of these, 
and haranguing his troops, he contrived to keep a few 
in the field, but that there was not the smallest doubt 
that the business was up, and America subdued. His 
inference was, that we ought immediately to make our 
peace. What do you shut yourselves up here for ? said 
he, in his rattling manner, to Miles, Atlee, and Magaw, 
with whom he was acquainted. Why don't you go to 
the coffeehouse and mix with the British army as I do ? 
They will use you well you may depend upon it. And, 
to be sure, the thing was easy enough; it was only to 
change sides, to cry peccavi, and receive forgiveness. 
Nevertheless, Colonel Houssacker made no proselytes to 
his opinion, or rather to his principles. Our affairs, it 
must be confessed, were at a very low ebb ; in so far, at 
least, as success was dependant on sheer fighting. The 
immense multitude which had taken the field in the be- 
ginning of the summer was no longer to be found ; it 
had vanished ; three short months from the opening of 



AMERICAN PROSPECTS. 



the campaign had melted it away. Perhaps not less 
than two-thirds of it had gone home ; no inconsiderable 
part had been put hors de combat by the enemy ; and 
the feeble remnant yet in arms was not calculated to in- 
spire confidence. 

Still we flattered ourselves that things were better 
than they appeared ; and notwithstanding the dire 
bodings of Houssacker, our spirits were not a little rais- 
ed by the handsome coups de main of Trenton and 
Princeton ; both of which came to our knowledge, 
though imperfectly. The mere circumstance of showing 
the country that the enemy was not invincible, we deem- 
ed of incalculable importance. It was in vain that the 
truth was disguised in the papers : enough was learned 
from other channels, to convince us that some signal ad- 
vantages had been obtained, and to induce a belief that 
the spirit of America was rising with the crisis. We 
were always anxious to see the newspapers, though, to 
be disgusted and mortified was the never failing result 
of a sight of them. But mercilessly as they be-rebelled 
us, the refugees, to our great delight, were not always 
spared ; as may be collected from the following super- 
latively stupid paragraph, which appeared in the paper of 
Hugh Gaine. It was substantially, if not precisely, in 
these words : — " One of the rebels who had lately taken 
the benefit of the commissioners' proclamation, complain- 
ing to a British officer, that he was not treated as a 
gentleman, the officer replied : — I take a gentleman to 
be a man of honour, and as it is plain no rebel can be 
such, you, having been one, cannot expect to be treated 
better than you are. 5 ' I felt a strong itch to cast a 
squib at this Boeotian attempt at a sarcasm ; but the dif- 
ficulty was to give it publicity. There was no getting it 



250 



COFFEEHOUSE INCIDENT. 



into a newspaper, and detection would infallibly have 
obtained the author a lodging in the provost prison. Up- 
on consulting with Edwards, it was agreed to endeavour 
to have it placed in a conspicuous part of the coffee- 
house ; and, accordingly, in the evening, we procured a 
black boy, who, for the small fee of a quarter of a dollar 
or half a crown, undertook to lay, unobserved, the fol- 
lowing production, sealed and addressed, " To the Offi- 
cers of the British Army," in one of the boxes of the 
coffeeroom : — 

" A friend to government presents his warmest and 
most submissive acknowledgments to his 6 6 very worthy 
and approved good masters," the gallant officers of the 
British army, ever pre-eminent in mercy, * for their man- 
ly and immortal triumph over the rebel, who had lately 
the unparalleled audacity to appear in the company of 
gentlemen— -1 say gentlemen, for from that witty and in- 
genious sarcasm, which appeared in Mr Gaines' last 
paper, it is incontestably proved that no rebel can be 
such ; and it is therein no less clearly demonstrated, 
that every man who wears a red coat, and has the mag- 
nanimity to insult a person in his power, has every claim 
to that respectable character, which humanity, polite- 
ness, and true heroism, can confer. But, while I ap- 
plaud the glory, I cannot but condemn the policy of the 
deed ; for who knows, but that some of these poor 
shabby rascals may have the arrogance to call themselves 
gentlemen on their own dunghill, and even to venture 
upon retaliation ? It is true, their cowardice and mean- 
ness of spirit have hitherto induced them to treat their 
prisoners with the utmost lenity and civility ; but, from 



* Words in a letter or proclamation of General Gage while at 
Boston. 



COFFEEHOUSE INCIDENT. 



251 



the spirit of enterprise they have lately discovered, it is 
much to be feared, that they may, one day, pluck up 
courage enough to look a British officer in the face, or 
even to insult a captive* 

" But I wander from my point, which was merely to 
celebrate this illustrious exploit, which far transcends the 
most heroic achievements of your ancestors. How shall 
I express my satisfaction of your conduct ? In a word, I 
am dumb with admiration, and " in silence muse your 
praise." 

We remained in ignorance of the issue of our machi- 
nation until the following evening, when Davenport call- 
ing upon us, immediately testified by his countenance, 
(for he was not an unpleasant rogue,) that some amusing 
mischief had occurred. " You are a couple of pretty fel- 
lows," said he to Edwards and myself \ " you have made 
a devil of an uproar at the coffeehouse !" We affected not 
to know what he meant, but he insisted upon it, that it 
was by us, and us alone, that a letter had been addressed 
to the British officers, which had set some of them raving 
mad. We found he had seen it, as he mentioned its con- 
tents. Some of the officers, he told us, only laughed at 
it, and said it was very well done, while others were so 
outrageous, as to put up a notice in the coffeeroom, im- 
porting, that " no white-washed rebel should presume to 
set his foot there again, under pain of being turned or 
kicked ont ;" for they supposed it to proceed from a re- 
fugee. Davenport judged better ; and was persuaded that 
we were its authors ; though we dissembled so well that he 
appeared at length to doubt. We were highly tickled 
at the success of the contrivance, but knew better than 
to put ourselves into the power of a man so unprinci- 
pled. He several times afterwards returned to the 



9&% CHARACTER OF THE BRITISH PROVOST MARSHAL. 



charge, persisting in his assertion that the letter was 
ours ; but we were so guarded that he was never able to 
extort from us an admission that we knew any thing of 
the matter: To have gotten into the clutches of Co- 
nyngham would have been paying too dearly for our 
joke. 

This Conyngham was the provost-marshal, and, by the 
concurrence of all who had been under his dominion, 
he was a fellow that would not have disgraced the impe- 
rial throne of the Caesars in the darkest days of Roman 
tyranny, nor the republic of France at the most reful- 
gent era of jacobinism. A just respect for the enlight- 
ened and moral policy of our rulers forbids my carrying 
the adaptation further. Davenport himself bore testi- 
mony to his villany ; one of whose traits was, that, in 
the evening, he would traverse his domain with a whip 
in his hand, sending his prisoners to bed with the ruf- 
fian-like Tattoo of Kennel, ye sons of bitches t Kennel, 
G — d damn ye / Colonel Ethen Allen, too, in the Nar- 
rative of his Captivity, says, that " he was as great a ras- 
cal as the army could boast of," with the single excep- 
tion of Joshua Loring, the commissary of prisoners ; and 
he winds up a most violent, and possibly not ill-deserv- 
ed, invective against the commissary in the following 
energetic and characteristic strain of eloquence. " He 
(meaning Loring) is the most mean-spirited, cowardly, 
deceitful, and destructive animal in God's creation be- 
low ; and legions of infernal devils, with all their tre- 
mendous horrors, are impatiently ready to receive Howe 
and him, with all their detestable accomplices, into the 
most exquisite agonies of the hottest regions of hell-fire." 

Should this language be thought too highly wrought, 
it should be remembered that few have ever more se- 

8 



TREATMENT OF COLONEL ALLEN. 



verely felt the hand of arbitrary power than Allen ; and 
that he had but recently emerged from the provost 
guard, to which, for some alleged infringement of 
parole, he, and Major Otho H. Williams, afterwards 
General Williams, a very gallant, and already distin- 
guished, officer, had been committed. Allen had been 
brought from Halifax to New York, a short time before 
the taking of Fort Washington, and was admitted to 
. parole when we were. His figure was that of a robust, 
large-framed man, worn down by confinement and hard 
fare ; but he was now recovering his flesh and spirits ; 
and a suit of blue clothes, with a gold laced hat that 
had been presented to him by the gentlemen of Cork, 
enabled him to make a very passable appearance for a 
rebel colonel. He used to show a fracture in one of 
his teeth, occasioned by his twisting off with it, in a fit 
of anger, the nail which fastened the bar of his hand- 
cuffs ; and which drew, from one of the astonished 
spectators, the exclamation of " Damn him, can he eat 
iron?" I had become well acquainted with him, and 
have more than once heard him relate his adventures, 
while a prisoner, before being brought to New York, ex- 
actly corresponding both in substance and language, 
with the narrative he gave the public in the year 1779. 
I have seldom met with a man possessing, in my opinion, a 
stronger mind, or whose mode of expression was more 
vehement and oratorical. His style was a singular com- 
pound of local barbarisms, scriptural phrases, and orien- 
tal wildness ; and though unclassic, and sometimes un- 
grammatical, it was highly animated and forcible. In the 
following sentence of his narrative, though it is not, per- 
haps, strictly correct in its construction, there is, to me, 
a flash of moral pathos not unworthy a Robertson i — 



254 KESULT OF APPLICATION TO GENERAL HOWE. 

" When the fleet," says he, " consisting of about for- 
ty-five sail, including five men of war, sailed from the 
Cove (of Cork) with a fresh breeze, the appearance was 
beautiful, abstracted from the unjust and bloody designs 
they had in view/' Notwithstanding that Allen might 
have had something of the insubordinate, lawless frontier 
spirit in his composition, having been in a state of hostili- 
ty with the government of New York before the war of 
the revolution, he appeared to me to be a man of gene- 
rosity and honour ; several instances of which occur in 
his publication, and one, not equivocal, came under my 
own observation. General Washington, speaking of him 
in an official letter of May the 12th 1788, observes, with 
a just discrimination, that there was an original some- 
thing in him which commanded admiration. 

The representation which had been submitted to Ge- 
neral Howe, in behalf of the suffering prisoners, was 
more successful than had been expected. About a 
week, I think, after its delivery, the memorialists were 
given to understand, that their statement and proposi- 
tions had been considered by Sir William Howe ; and 
that he was disposed to accede to them. These were, 
if I mistake not, that the men should be sent within our 
lines where they should be receipted for, and an equal 
number of the prisoners in our hands returned in ex- 
change. Policy, no less than humanity, recommended 
the measure ; since our men, no longer soldiers and too 
debilitated for service, even should they incline to re- 
enlist, gave a claim to sound men, immediately fit to 
take the field - 7 and there was, moreover, great danger, 
that, if they remained in New York, the disease, with 
which they were infected, might be spread throughout 
the city. That these considerations had their weight 



PRISONERS EXCHANGED. 



255 



in the favourable result of the application, cannot be 
doubted. At any rate, hope was admitted into the man- 
sions of despair : the prison doors were thrown open ; 
and the soldiers, who were yet alive and capable of being 
moved, were conveyed to pur nearest posts, under the 
care of our regimental surgeons, to them a fortunate 
circumstance, since it enabled them to exchange the 
land of bondage for that of liberty, and to return to the 
bosom of their families and friends. Among these was 
Dr M'Henry, with whom, from a residence in the same 
house, I was becoming intimate, though I had been but 
little acquainted with him before. The mention of 
this gentleman brings along with it the recollection of 
my obligation to him for his kindness and medical cure 
of me under the attack of a quinsy, but a very few days 
before he left us. 

Immediately after the release of our men, a new lo- 
cation was assigned to us ; and on the 22d of January, 
(1777>) as I find from Ethen Allen's narrative, though 
my recollection would have placed it in the middle of 
February, we were removed to Long Island, and by our 
parole restricted to a district, consisting of Flatbush, 
Newlots, Flatlands, and Gravesend, at each of which 
places a part of us were billeted on the inhabitants by 
Commissary Loring, for the stipulated sum of two dol- 
lars a head per week. What induced our removal from 
New York I never learned : but without any inclination 
to assign undue importance to a trifle, it is not improba- 
ble that the squib thrown into the coffeehouse, as alrea- 
dy mentioned, might have had its influence in bringing 
about the measure. Whatever some of the British offi- 
cers might have thought, the refugees and Tories could 
have had no doubt of the quarter whence it came. Its 



256 



OFFICERS REMOVED TO LONG ISLAND. 



tenor, and still more its consequences, could not but 
have been both offensive and mortifying to them ; and 
their feelings were entitled to the attention of Sir Wil- 
liam Howe, whose protection they had sought. In ad- 
dition to this, it is probable that in other respects we did 
not sufficiently conform to the state of humiliation, in 
which it was the policy to place us. We took the full 
latitude of our parole, traversing the streets in all direc- 
tions with a good deal of assurance ; and once when the 
Teawater pond was frozen over and covered with British 
officers, who thought themselves skaters, a few of us were 
audacious enough to mingle in the exercise, from the 
malicious pleasure, more than any thing else, of showing 
them what arrant bunglers they were. But to whatever 
cause it might be owing, it was to the generality of us 
a most unwelcome step. It was placing another river 
between us and our homes ; and though, in fact, we 
should be as visible to the eyes of Congress on Long Is- 
land as at New York, we could not but consider the 
measure as unpropitious to an exchange \ and we regard- 
ed our transportation across the East river as a consigna- 
tion to " dumb forgetfulness," where, no longer thought 
of by friends or foes, we were destined to waste the best 
of our days in a state of hopeless captivity. 



OFFICERS BEHOVED TO FLATEUSH. 



257 



CHAPTER X. 

Situation of the Officers at Long Island — Society and Man- 
ners — Hardships of Captivity — The Author '<? Mother un- 
expectedly arrives at New York — Narrative of her Excur- 
sion — Procures the Author's Liberty on Parole. 

Flatbush was the place assigned for the officers of 
our regiment, as well as those of Magaw's. Here also 
were stationed Colonels Miles, Atlee, Rawlins, and Ma- 
jor Williams, the indulgence of arranging ourselves agree- 
ably to our respective circles of acquaintance having been 
granted by Mr Loring, of whom, for my own part, I 
have nothing hard to say. It is true he laboured under 
that " curse of great ones," in having the " forked 
plague" fixed on him by Sir William : Yet as there is 
little doubt, that he considered himself amply indemnified 
by his office, he was not " robbed at all." Mr Forrest and 
myself were billeted on a Mr Jacob Suydam. His house 
was pretty large, consisting of buildings which appeared 
to have been erected at different times, the front and 
better part of which was in the occupation of Mr Theo- 
philact Bache and his family from New York. Though 
we were in general civilly enough received, it cannot be 
supposed that we were very welcome to our Low Dutch 
hosts, whose habits of living were extremely parsimoni- 
ous, and whose winter provision was barely sufficient for 
themselves. Had they been sure of receiving the two 

R 



258 



STATE OF LONG ISLAND. 



dollars a week, it might have reconciled them to the 
measure ; but payment appeared to them to depend on 
the success of our cause, (Congress or ourselves being 
looked upon as the paymasters,) and its failure, in their 
eyes, would in both cases induce a stoppage of payment. 
They were, however, a people who seemed thoroughly 
disposed to submit to any power which might be set over 
them ; and whatever might have been their propensities 
or demonstrations at an earlier stage of the contest, they 
were now the dutiful and loyal subjects of his Majesty 
George the Third ; and entirely obedient to the behests 
of their military masters in New York. As it was at 
the instance of these that we were saddled upon them, 
they received us with the best grace they could put on. 
Their houses and beds we found clean ; but their living 
extremely poor, and well calculated to teach the luxuri- 
ous, how infinitely less than their pampered appetites 
require, is essential to the sustentation of life. In the 
apostrophe of Lucan, 

O prodiga rerum 
Luxuries, nunquam parvo contenta paratu, 
Et quaesitorum terra pelagoque ciborum 
Ambitiosa fames, et lautae gloria mensae ! 
Discite quam parvo liceat producere vitam. 

Thus translated by Rowe : 

Behold ! ye sons of luxury, behold ! 
Who scatter in excess your lavish gold ; 
You who the wealth of frugal ages waste, 
T indulge a wanton supercilious taste ; 
For whom all earth, all ocean are explor'd 
To spread the various proud voluptuous board, 
Behold ! how little thrifty nature craves. 



SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH. 



259 



A sorry wash, made up of a sprinkling of bohea, and the 
darkest sugar on the verge of fluidity, with half baked 
bread, fuel being among the scarcest articles at Flatbush, 
and a little stale butter, constituted our breakfast. At 
our first coming, a small piece of pickled beef was occa- 
sionally boiled for dinner, but, to the beef, which was 
soon consumed, succeeded clippers or clams, and our 
unvaried supper was supon or mush, sometimes with 
skimmed milk, but more generally with buttermilk 
blended with molasses, which was kept for weeks in a 
churn, as swill is saved for hogs. I found it, however, 
after a little use, very eatable ; and supper soon became 
my best meal. The table company consisted of the mas- 
ter of the house, Mr Jacob Suydam, an old bachelor, 
a young man, a shoemaker of the name of Rem Hager- 
man, married to Jacob's niece, who, with a mewling in- 
fant in her arms, never failed to appear. A black boy 
too was generally in the room ; not as a waiter, but as 
a kind of enfant de maison, who walked about, or 
took post in the chimney corner with his hat on, and 
occasionally joined in the conversation. It is pro- 
bable, that, but for us, he would have been placed at 
the table, and that it had been the custom before we 
came. Certain it is, that the idea of equality was more 
fully and fairly acted upon in this house of a British sub- 
ject, than ever I have seen it practised by the most ve- 
hement declaimers for the rights of man among ourselves. 
It is but fair, however, to mention, that I have never 
been among our transcendent republicans of Virginia 
and her dependencies. But notwithstanding some un- 
pleasant circumstances in our establishment, every mem- 
ber of the family, the black fellow, to whom we had been 
the cause of some privations, excepted, was exceedingly 



260 MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE. 

courteous and accommodating. Rem Hagerman, and 
Yonichy his wife, gave themselves no airs ; nor was our 
harmony with uncle Jacob ever interrupted, but on a 
single occasion , when, soured a little by I know not 
what provocation, he made a show of knocking down 
Forrest with a pair of yarn stockings he had just drawn 
from his legs, as he sat in the chimney corner one even- 
ing preparing for bed. It was, indeed, but an offer, 
though it might, for ought 1 know, have amounted to an 
assault in law, as Jacob was not so far from the person 
menaced, but that the feet of the stockings, if held by 
the other extremity, and projected from an extended 
arm, might possibly have reached him ; and a pair of 
long worn yarn stockings might, from daily alluvion, 
have acquired somewhat of the properties of a cudgel. 
But moments of peevishness were allowable to our host ; 
since, though we had for* some time been consuming his 
provisions, he had never seen a penny of our money, and 
it was somewhat doubtful, to say the truth, whether he 
ever would ; for, considering the contractors for our 
boarding liable for it, we never thought of paying it 
ourselves. As the Low Dutch are a people little known 
in Pennsylvania, and more especially, as it is my avowed 
intention to advert to the character of the time, this 
sketch of their domestic economy and manners may not 
be thought impertinent. In a word, from what I saw 
of them on Long Island, I was led to consider them as a 
people, quiet and inoffensive beyond any I had seen ; 
such, from whom no enthusiastic efforts, either of good 
or evil tendency, were to be looked for ; who were nei- 
ther prolific of Catos nor Catilines ; and who, had they 
been the sole occupants of this great continent of ours, 
would still have been colonists, and never known what it 

8 



SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH — MR BACHE. 



261 



was to be independent republicans. Their religious, like 
their other habits, were unostentatious and plain ; and a 
silent grace before meat prevailed at the table of Jacop 
Suydam. When we were all seated, he suddenly clab- 
ped his hands together, threw his head on one side, clos- 
ed his eyes, and remained mute and motionless for about 
a minute. His niece and nephew following his example ; 
but with such an eager solicitude that the copied attitude 
should be prompt and simultaneous, as to give an air of 
absurdity to what might otherwise have been very de- 
cent. Although little of the vernacular accent remain- 
ed on the tongues of these people, they had some pecu- 
liarities in their phraseology. Among these, instead of 
asking you to sit, or sit down to table, they invited you 
to sit by, and this I even observed in General Schuyler, 
when I was at Lake George. It might be asked by a 
stickling New Yorker, if sit by is not as proper, and even 
more so, than sit down, which, in strictness, is a redun- 
dancy. A Philadelphian might admit it ; but it would 
be no evidence of his want of candour, should he add, 
that it was, nevertheless, extremely awkward English. 

The morning after our arrival at this place we en- 
countered Mr Bache in the piazza, which extended the 
whole length of the building on the south side. His be- 
ing an Englishman, and a determined royalist, did not 
prevent him from accosting us very civilly, and manifest- 
ing a disposition to maintain a friendly intercourse with 
us, notwithstanding the difference in our political senti- 
ments. Having long resided in New York, he was ac- 
quainted with the grounds of the contest, and well knew 
that the opposition to the mother country was not con- 
fined to a low and desperate faction, as it was the fashion 
among the loyalists to represent it. He was aware that 



SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH MB BACHE. 

his brother in Philadelphia (married to the daughter of 
Dr Franklin) had embraced the Whig side of the ques- 
tion, as well as others of the first respectability in Ame- 
rica ; and was, therefore, perfectly sensible that we were 
not the insignificant rebels which policy depicted us. 
But whatever was the motive, the behaviour of Mr Bache 
was altogether free from intolerance and party rancour. 
It was more, it was hospitable and kind. In addition to 
frequent invitations to tea, and to partake of his Madeira, 
to help us along a little, as he expressed it, in allusion to 
the mean fare of Jacob's table, I was indebted to him for 
the offer of his purse, although he neither knew me nor 
my connexions. As I stood in no need of it, I declined 
it ; but with a due sense of the obligation the mere offer 
imposed. I availed myself, however, of the tender of his 
services in executing small commissions for me when he 
went to New York, which was almost every day ; and, 
among these, he once negociated a bill of exchange in 
my favour on Major Small. It might have been this cir- 
cumstance which led the Major to a knowledge that my 
mother (at whose house he had long, and at different 
times, been a lodger, as already mentioned) had sons in 
the American army. For, on conversing once with Cap- 
tain Hutchins, in London, on the subject of the war, he 
said to him, " Would you have believed it, Hutchins, 
that Desdy had two of her sons in arms against us?" 
But this fact could not have appeared quite so unnatural 
to the Captain as it did to the Major, since, not very 
long after, for his attachment to the American cause, he 
was obliged to relinquish the British service, having first 
been arrested on a charge of treasonable practices. Cap- 
tain Hutchins, I think, was a native of New Jersey. On 
his coming over to us, he was appointed to the post of 



SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH CAPTAIN HUTCHIKS. 263 

Geographer-general, which had probably been created 
for him. From his long and frequent residences in our 
house, he was domesticated in it. He was a worthy and 
a pious man ; but one, who, in his continued complaints 
of the injustice of the British government, in not fully 
remunerating his services, betrayed but little knowledge 
of the world. Cgesar, it is true, sent Labienus his pay 
and baggage, when that officer thought proper to join 
the standard of Pompey ; but this was an instance of sin- 
gular generosity. If Captain Hutchins, after spending 
the greater part of his life in the British army, chose to 
renounce it for that of America, he should, at least, have 
granted to his old employers the privilege of some ill hu- 
mour, and not have been too outrageous, even though 
some pecuniary deficiency had been its consequence. 
What was patriotism in his eyes — in theirs was ingrati- 
tude ; and the right of thinking was mutual. But if these 
vile monarchists were unjust to a relinquisher of their 
cause, what shall we say of the conduct of our own re- 
publican rulers to old officers, who have always been 
faithful ? Comparing the destiny of many of these with 
that of the adherents to the British government, I fear 
we shall not all be able to say with Rousseau : Henreux, 
toutes les Jbis que je medite sur les gouverncmens, de 
trouver toujours dans mes recherclwSy de nouvelles rai- 
sons d* aimer celui de mon pays. * 

' Besides Mr Bache, there were, at this time, several 
New Yorkers with their families, residing at Elatbush. 
Of these, Mr Axtle was apparently the first in point of 



* Happy, so often as I contemplate other governments, to find, 
in my researches, as I always do, new reasons for loving that of 
my own country ! 



264 SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH DOMINE KEUBELL. 



wealth and importance. I think he had been of the go- 
vernor's council. He was neatly seated at a country 
house at the entrance of the village from New York ; 
and I had once the honour of supping with him, to- 
gether with eight or ten of my fellow-prisoners, that had 
been selected on the occasion. What the object of this 
single attention was could not be divined ; but after par- 
taking of the hospitality, it would be wrong to ascribe it 
to other than a liberal motive, and, after having obtained 
a footing in his house, it was our own fault that it was 
not improved. In the family of Mr Axtle there was a 
Mr Frederick Depeyster, a young man, better known in 
the village by the fondling appellation of Feady, and two 
young ladies, all of whom were the relations of Mrs Ax- 
tle. One of these, a Miss Shipton, had so much tolera- 
tion forour cause, as, some time after, to marry a Major 
Giles of our army. Next in consequence to Mr Axtle 
might be placed Mr Matthews, the Mayor of New 
York, who divided his time between the village and the 
city, in each of which he had a house. There were also 
here a Mr Sherbroke and a Mr Jauncey ; and Major 
MoncriefF of the British army, a relation by marriage to 
Mr Bache, spent much of his time here, where he had a 
daughter. But the principal personage, in a Low Dutch 
village, appears to be the Domine or minister ; and Fiat- 
bush, at this time, revered her Domine Reubell, a ro- 
tund, jolly-looking man, a follower of Luther, and a To- 
ry, on whom were billeted Colonels Atlee and Miles. 
At Flatlands, an adjacent hamlet, there was also a Do- 
mine Van Zinder, a disciple of Calvin, and a Whig. 
He was in person, as well as principles, a perfect 
contrast to Mr Reubell, being a lean and shrivelled lit- 
tle man, with silver flowing locks which " streamed like 



SOCIETY AT FLATBUSH DOMINE VAN ZINDER. 



265 



a meteor to the troubled air," as he whisked along 
with great velocity in his chair through Flat bush. Re- 
calling his figure and triangular sharp-pointed hat, I have 
before me the express image of the learned Knicker- 
bocker's William the Testy. This latter Domine was 
distinguished by a species of pulpit eloquence, which 
might be truly said to " bring matters home to men's 
business and bosoms." Mr Bache assured me, that, in 
once descanting on the wily arts of the devil, in seducing 
and ensnaring sinners, he likened him to my landlord, 
Jacob Suydam, sneaking and skulking about to get a 
shot at a flock of snipes ; small birds of the plover kind, 
which, at certain seasons, are very numerous on the 
beach ; and in shooting of which, old Jacob, it seems, was 
eminently skilful and successful. I was indebted to Mr 
Bache for much other local information ; and was grati- 
fied to find, that our defence of Fort Washington was 
considered by the British officers as far from pusillani- 
mous or disgraceful. 

There was a fatiguing sameness in our occupations 
for which we had no cure. During a residence of about 
five months upon Long Island, I was but once beyond 
the limits to which we were restricted, and this was to 
dine with Mr Wallace, one of the principal merchants of 
New York, who now resided at Jamaica. Together 
with Major West and Captain Lenox, I had been re- 
commended to him by the house of the Nesbits, or of 
Conyngham and Nesbit, (I am not sure of the firm,) in 
Philadelphia, to whose friendship I was also indebted, as 
it was unsolicited, for a letter of credit on him, which, 
however, I had no occasion to use. An instance, by the 
by, of the liberal uses of that commerce, which, in the 
enlarged and enlightened mind of Mr Jefferson, only 



266 AN EXCURSION STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING. 

tends to corrupt and narrow the heart ; and to sink 
those employed in it into the most worthless part of the 
community. It was this circumstance which procured 
us an invitation to dine with him ; to enable us to do 
which, he had obtained for us a temporary dispensation 
from our parole, from Mr Loring. We cheerfully avail- 
ed ourselves of the little variety this visit would afford 
us, and waited upon Mr Wallace, who entertained us 
with much hospitality. But there was one incident, I 
must confess, I did not altogether relish : Perhaps it was 
designed as a delicate mode of assuring us that the civi- 
lity we received was not to be considered, in any degree, 
as a toleration of our principles. After dinner, the son 
of our entertainer, a boy of about seven or eight years of 
age, came into the room, and his father, putting a glass 
of wine into his hand, asked him what he drank : " Church 
and King," pronounced the little fellow in an audible 
voice. I did not know, until now, that I had made so 
much progress in republicanism. Although loyalty to 
the king had but lately been an ardent feeling in Ame- 
rica, and had certainly been mine ; and although I had 
recently contemplated becoming an Episcopalian, from 
an idea that it was the duty of all men to conform to the 
established religion of their country, where, to their 
minds, there were no essential objections to its tenets — 
yet the sentiment appeared to me degrading and slavish 
in the extreme. This is an instance how much our 
opinions are swayed by our passions and habits, and a 
corroboration of the remark of Lord Chatham, " That 
the first blood drawn in the contest would prove an irri- 
tabile vulnus, a wound that could not be healed, but 
which would fester and mortify the whole body. 35 

Upon our first arrival at Jamaica, after putting up our 



AN EXCURSION MB WALLACE. 



267 



horses at an inn, we concluded to take a ramble through 
the town before we went to Mr Wallace's. We had, ac- 
cordingly, strolled to nearly the end of the main street, 
when we observed a soldier, or non-commissioned officer, 
coming after us. We suspected his business to be with 
us, when, approaching with due military etiquette, he 
gave us to understand that he came by order of Colonel 
Fanning, who desired to speak with us at his quarters. 
We immediately returned with him, and were conducted 
to the colonel, who informed us that he presumed we 
were prisoners ; and if so, as we were without our limits, 
he conceived it his duty to inquire into the cause of it. 
We told him that we came to dine with Mr Wallace, who, 
we understood, had obtained permission for us so to do, 
from the commissary of prisoners. Had we any certifi- 
cate or evidence of this ? he asked. We replied, we had 
not, as we had entirely referred the matter to Mr Wal- 
lace, and relied upon his assurance that we were privi- 
leged. Finding that he still seemed to consider it a du- 
bious point, whether we ought to be detained or set at 
liberty, we thought it time to assert ourselves a little, and 
told him that it was a matter of the utmost indifference 
to us what part he might adopt. After a moment's con- 
sideration, however, he thought proper to dismiss us. 
This Mr Fanning had been secretary to Governor 
Tryon, and now commanded a regiment of new levies, 
stationed at that place. Though we assumed some ca- 
valier airs on the occasion, it cannot be said that the colo- 
nel had exceeded his duty, or betrayed any wantonness 
of authority. 

As Mr Wallace was from Ireland, it probably would 
not have comported with the hospitality of his table to 
have suffered us to leave it unexhilarated. He pushed 



268 



officers'* appointments. 



the bottle, therefore, and detained us, anti-church and 
king-men, as we were, until we had received as much of 
his Madeira as we could carry home with any tolerable 
convenience. 

Among the very few incidents which occurred to 
vary the wearisome sameness of Flatbush was the ar- 
rival, one day, of two or three officers of the British 
guards, to pay their respects to Captain Richardson of 
Magaw's regiment, who, they had but lately learned, 
was the brother of Colonel Francis Richardson, already 
mentioned in the early part of these Memoirs. I did 
not see them, but the circumstance was related to me 
by Edwards, who was cruelly mortified in the reflection, 
that a worse specimen in outward appearance of the offi- 
cers of our army could hardly have been found, than in 
the person of Captain Richardson. In addition to a 
mean slouching figure, he was disgustingly slovenly, and 
wretchedly calculated to support either the dignity of his 
brother or our army. Whether he was unlucky enough 
to be found by his visitors, I do not recollect ; but it was 
unquestionably the interest of those who were piqued for 
the reputation of the American service to keep him out 
of sight, or, at least, to have him furbished up before ap- 
pearing. As it was the policy of the enemy to vilify us, 
and depreciate our cause, by representing its supporters 
as vulgar and contemptible, it consequently stimulated 
us to appear to as much advantage as possible. Those 
who may think we attached too much importance to a 
good exterior, in the situation in which we were, know 
nothing of the qualifications respected among military 
men ; and they would betray no less ignorance of the 
common feelings of mankind, should they doubt that the 
respectability of our army was not of vast importance to 



OBSTRUCTIONS TO AN EXCHANGE. 



269 



our undertaking : as much, if not more, I will venture 
to affirm, that even the respectability of Congress, a 
small invisible body, not possessing the means of sensi- 
ble impression on the mass of the people. In civil con- 
tests, it is highly requisite for the party in opposition to 
government to counteract the advantage of recognized 
authority, by an appearance that may raise them above 
contempt, than which nothing can be more unfavourable 
to them. This was strikingly exemplified, at least, in 
our revolution ; and is another instance of its dissimilari- 
ty to that of the French, whose object being the subver- 
sion of society, found its early strength to consist in the 
vaunted baseness of its partizans. 

We had now been captive nearly seven months, and 
the obstacle to an exchange seemed in no likelihood to 
be removed. We had seen the letters which had passed 
upon the subject between the commanders of the two 
armies ; and although we were satisfied with the reason- 
ing on our side, and consoled, in some degree, by the 
feeling manner in which our situation was adverted to by 
General Washington, we were far from being reconciled 
to our fate. Notwithstanding that Lee's being consider- 
ed as a deserter by Sir William Howe was the ostensi- 
ble bar, it occurred to me, that the reluctance felt by 
Congress to restoring, without an equivalent, the British 
soldiers in their possession, was their principal motive for 
disagreeing to any cartel that should be attended with 
that consequence. The rash, though not undeserved 
letter to the Council of Safety, too, stared full in the 
face, us, the unlucky wights who had been indiscreet 
enough to put our names to it: and, as the council 
might be supposed to have some influence in the gene- 
ral concerns of the confederation, we sometimes, in our 



270 



HARDSHIPS OF CAPTIVITY. 



desponding fits, conceived ourselves no less the victims 
of resentment than of policy. Before our removal to 
Long Island, Colonel Miles had been permitted to visit 
his family in Pennsylvania ; and as he had been charged 
with some proposals relative to an exchange of prisoners, 
he had an interview with General Howe, either upon his 
going in or his return. On this occasion, he received 
no very favourable impression of the literary talents or 
critical acumen of his excellency, who, on commenting 
on the communications of General Washington, among 
other shrewd remarks, observed that they were very 
badly compiled. For the General himself he express- 
ed much respect, but lamented that he was surrounded 
by a set of lawyers who led him astray, and who contri- 
buted to, if they did not solely cause, this bad compila- 
tion of his letters. Who compiled for Sir William is not 
ascertained, that I know of, but I believe it was general- 
ly admitted, that, in this particular, he was not better 
served than General Washington. General Lee tells us, 
that " M'Kensey, Balfour, and Galloway, were his scribes ; 
and that all the damned stuff which was issued to the 
astonished world was theirs." 

Captivity is justly comprehended in the catalogue of 
human woes ; its poignancy is recognized by Shake- 
speare in his play of Othello, and it is among the cala- 
mities which are particularly adverted to in the excel- 
lent liturgy of the Church of England. What peculiar 
sickness of the heart it is, may be collected from Rowe's 
beautiful allusion to it, in the wailings of Calista : — 

" So the poor captive in a foreign realm, 
Stands on the shore and sends his wishes back, 
To the dear native land from whence he came." 

How often have I done this from the summit of the 

12 



ELEGIAC STANZAS OF THE AUTHOR. 



commanding heights which bounded our district towards 
Brooklyn, and afforded an extensive view of East Jer- 
sey. Here, like Tom Jones, from the top of Mazard 
Hill, and for a similar cause, have I frequently reflected 
with a sigh upon the vast tract of land which lay between 
me and my home. For, although the particular object 
of my contemplation was not within my sight, I had, as 
was observed of Jones by his discerning companion, a 
pleasure in looking that way. In my melancholy hours, 
I had made this spot the scene of an elegiac essay, 
where, having located my forlorn captive, about sun-set, 
I say : — 

Here, on the lofty summit,, as he stood, 

His wistful eyes still sought the western shore ; 

There, ting'd with gold, the distant hills he view'd, 
Where yet her sons fair freedom's ensign bore. 

My unaffected conviction of the poverty of my poetic 
talent forbids a recital of more than a few stanzas of my 
fragmentary production, which are selected, as well be- 
cause they serve to show my impressions at the time, in 
regard to the cruelty of the enemy, as that they confer 
attributes on General Washington, which seem precisely 
those which are the award of the present day, and will be 
that of all posterity. After a bitter apostrophe to Howe 
for the imputed murder of our soldiery, the doom-de- 
nouncing bard proceeds : — 

For heaven is just, and though the dazzling rays 

Of royal favour dignify thy name, 
Yet dire remorse shall tear thy future days, 

And history damn thee to eternal fame. 
Then, too, shall truth impartially record 

The generous efforts of the patriot few, 
Rous'd by their wrongs to draw th' avenging sword ; 
And crush fell tyranny's destructive crew. 



27£ OBSTACLES TO EXCHANGE OF OFFICERS, 

First, in the deathless animating page, 

Thy fame, great Washington ! illustrious shines, 

Unsullied by the breath of party rage, 

More brilliant than Golconda's glitt'ring mines. 

For conduct, dignity, and valour fam'd, 
Midst dark adversity serenely great, 
Thy dauntless soul with godlike ardour flam'd, 
And soar'd above the scowling blasts of fate. 

'Twas then, majestic Delaware ! thy wave, 
Became immortal from the splendid deed, &c. 

When the attempt to settle a cartel had proved abor- 
tive, it was rumoured that we were to be shipped for 
England ; and this we should generally have preferred 
to remaining where we were. We figured to ourselves 
something of the nature of an adventure in the measure ; 
and, from what Ethan Allen had told us, we did not 
doubt that we should find in it some sources of gratifi- 
cation. The step, however, was not rationally to be 
looked for : there could be no inducement to it, though 
there might be for the threat, upon the supposition that 
we had connexions powerful enough to prevail with Con- 
gress for an exchange. The most sanguine among us 
had now given up the hope of a deliverance ; and, in 
addition to the pining tediousness of our situation, that 
engine for breaking hearts, the provost prison, was ever 
open to receive the victims of brutal insolence and ma- 
lignity. That this was no chimera, the following inci- 
dent will prove : — Some fellows, one morning, on the 
road to New York market with fish, were stopped by 
Captain Lenox and two other officers, Lieutenant 
Wright of Maryland, and Lieutenant Stewart of Dela- 
ware, I think, who wished to buy some ; but they were 
told, by the fishmongers, that they would not sell to re- 
bels. This produced reproachful language on both 



OBSTACLES TO EXCHANGE OF OFFICERS. 2*73 



sides, when the officers, laying hold of the fish, began to 
bandy them about the jaws of the ragamufhans that had 
Insulted them. A complaint was immediately lodged 
with General Robertson ; the accused were escorted, by a 
guard, to New York, and, on the statement of the com- 
plainants, being found in aggression, they were required 
to make acknowledgments to the injured ; which, refu- 
sing to do, they were forthwith consigned to the custo- 
dy of the provost marshal. With him they remained 
for two or three weeks ; but, at length, were released, 
without being held to the concessions first demanded. 
Conyngham, it seems, had used them well ; partly 
owing, probably, to instructions from General Robert- 
son, and, partly, to Mr Lenox's being well supplied with 
money and appearing of consequence, which, better than 
any thing else, is calculated to mollify the heart of a ge- 
nuine caitiff in power. 

It was a generally received opinion among us, that a 
close confinement would be a virtual cancelling of our 
parole ; and hence, when these gentlemen were returned 
to their district, without the exaction of a new one, they 
submitted it to a board of officers, whether or not they 
would be justified in going away. I forget what officers 
composed the board 5 I only recollect that Colonel Ethan 
Allen was one, and that his opinion was that of a man 
of honour and sound casuist. He admitted, that they 
had a right to escape from their actual confinement, but 
that now the case was altered ; and that, although no 
new parole had been given, yet the obligation of the 
former one should be considered as returning on their 
enlargement ; and that they were under the same re- 
straint, in point of honour, that they had been before 
their commitment to the provost. This was also the 

s 



£74 OBSTACLES TO EXCHANGE OF OFFICERS. 



opinion of the board, and unanimously approved, as well 
by the gentlemen immediately interested as by others. 
I have principally mentioned this circumstance, to show, 
that Allen, however turbulent a citizen under the old 
regime, was not the vulgar ruffian that the New York 
royalists represented him. 

While in this state of dejection, from the unavailing 
negotiation to establish a cartel, an incident, as little ex- 
pected as any other within the compass of possibility, 

took place. It was, to the best of my recollection, 

early in the month of June, that one day meeting with 
Mr Christian Huck, the lawyer, a refugee from Phila- 
delphia, at Flatbush, he informed me that my mother 
was in New York. The astonishment, and even incre- 
dulity, I expressed by my manner, induced him to re- 
peat his assurance that such was the fact, that he had 
seen her and conversed with her, and that I might ex- 
pect to see her at this place, either on the present or 
succeeding day. Although aware that she yielded to 
none in the ardour of maternal affection, yet nothing 
could be more unlooked for than this event ; and even 
the pleasure I promised myself in seeing her did not 
compensate for the disapprobation I felt at the impru- 
dence of the undertaking - p improper in every point of 
view in which I could contemplate it. When I reflected 
upon the difficulties she had to encounter, and her timi- 
dity in every mode of travelling, and particularly by wa- 
ter, which would be occasionally necessary in her jour- 
ney, I could not but conclude, that there must be some 
very extraordinary motive for it ; and my desire to meet 
her was mixed with a painful anxiety. 

She arrived the day after she had been announced, 
having hired a person at Brooklyn to bring her from 

12 



AUTHOR VISITED BY HIS MOTHER, 275 

thence in a chair. Her only object, I found, was to see 
me, and to endeavour to procure my release on parole ; 
as she had heard that we were harshly treated, and on 
the point of being sent to England. The fatigue and 
anxiety of her journey had so far overcome her, that, on 
reaching New York, she had been ill for a few days, and 
had put herself under the care of a Dr Carlton or Charl- 
ton, who, though he appeared to have acquitted himself 
well enough as a physician, had extremely shocked and 
disgusted her by his intolerant toryism. Upon finding 
what her errand was, he seemed to take pleasure in con- 
firming to her, that the prisoners were to be sent to 
England, and hanged there, he added, for aught that he 
knew ; but that, at any rate, it was what they richly de- 
served. She had been visited, I learned, by the Aliens, 
or some of them, Huck, as already mentioned, and some 
others from Philadelphia, who were anxious to hear what 
was going on in that quarter. Upon mentioning her 
business to Mr John Allen, he advised her not to be 
scrupulous as to the terms of my release, since the busi- 
ness would very soon be over, and a pardon be all that 
could be obtained by any who had borne arms. But be- 
fore stating what took place on this side of the lines, let 
us go back a little to what occurred on the other. 

The projected undertaking had been long in contem- 
plation ; and the friends as well as members of the fa- 
mily had been consulted on the occasion. Some ad- 
vised it, but the greater part disapproved of it. Having 
acquaintances on both sides, my mother indiscriminately 
took their opinions ; and so far as party feeling appear- 
ed to enter into the question, it was observable, that 
the Tories were for the measure, the Whigs against it. 
The former were, of course, advocates for the benigni- 



276 OBSTACLES TO A RELEASE OF PRISONERS. 

ty of General Howe ; and as they were incredulous, or 
affected incredulity, as to the ill treatment of prisoners, 
they would have rejoiced in her success, as an instance 
to the contrary. The latter did not, in the first place, 
think the application would be of any avail ; and, as 
upon this particular occasion, they were in the predica- 
ment which, Rochefoucault tells us, all men are in at 
all times, viz. that of " discovering something in the 
misfortunes of their best friends, which does not entirely 
displease them," they would, probably, have been bet- 
ter satisfied that we should all have grown old in capti- 
vity, than have become vouchers for British clemency by 
an immediate release : As it was inconvenient for Con- 
gress to exchange us, it appeared to them much better 
that we should remain prisoners until the conclusion of 
the war, if peradventure we should so long live, than, by 
coming out on parole, furnish the Tories with a circum- 
stance they might turn to the advantage of their side. 
So stern a thing is patriotism, when the comfort of third 
persons only is concerned ! As my mother, however, 
possessed too little of the Roman spirit to be duly moved 
by such magnanimous considerations, the feelings of na- 
ture prevailed, and she resolved on the enterprise. She 
purchased a horse and chair for the occasion, and set out 
for Philadelphia, her residence being at this time at 
Reading, to which place she had removed, with several 
other families of her acquaintance, in the preceding 
winter, when the enemy had penetrated through Jersey 
to the Delaware. On her arrival in the city, one 
Fisher, a Scotchman, and relation of my grandmother, 
was officious in tendering his service to drive her to 
New York. As he was a retailer of dry goods, his ob- 
ject, no doubt, was traffic ; and to bring home with him 



MATERNAL ANXIETY. 



277 



some scarce light articles in the chair box. The offer was 
accepted ; they set off, and had nearly reached Prince- 
ton, when, to their great astonishment, they were over- 
taken by a detachment of cavalry, which had been sent 
in pursuit of them, with orders to arrest their progress. 
The cause was this. Fisher, it seems, was a Tory, 
either real or putative ; and the fact having been made 
known to General Mifflin, who was then in the city, it 
had set him a fidgeting, and, as no one could exactly 
foresee the consequences that might result to the infant 
nation, should a suspected Scotch shopkeeper get out of 
Philadelphia into New York ; the hue and cry on the 
occasion was proportionably eager and vehement. It 
cannot be denied, however, that the proceeding was 
quite in rule. The culprits were immediately taken in- 
to custody ; but my mother's guilt being merely that of 
bad neighbourhood, (nimium vicina Cremotice,) having 
been wholly ignorant of the political tenets of her com- 
panion, she was conducted to the quarters of General 
Sullivan, who commanded at this post. Here she 
remained until due order was taken in the premises, 
when she found, that, instead of proceeding on her 
journey, she was under the necessity of retracing her 
steps towards Philadelphia, under an escort of horse. 
When they had got back as far as Bristol, means were 
found for Mr Fisher, the only prisoner, to pursue his 
way, without the chair, with which he had been accom- 
modated so far ; and Colonel M'Uvaine, an old and 
particular friend, and, indeed, connection of the family, 
kindly offering to accompany my mother to the head- 
quarters of our army, from whence the proper measures 
might be taken for her proceeding into the British lines \ 
her horse's head was once more turned towards New 



278 



MATERNAL ANXIETY. 



York. They reached the hospitable mansion of Mr 
Vanhorne, of Boundbrook, on the evening of the day 
they set out. It fortunately turned out, that he had 
been acquainted with my father, and having connections 
in Brunswick, he furnished my mother with a letter of 
introduction, extremely useful to her on her arrival 
there. Passing over unimportant particulars, she was 
conducted with her horse and chair to the enemy's 
lines by Major Scull, who was then obliged to leave her, 
and commit her to the courtesy of some Hessian officers, 
who were on duty there. It happened, during the ce- 
remony of the flag, that a gun was somewhere discharg- 
ed on our side of the lines. This infringement of mili- 
tary etiquette was furiously resented by the German 
officers, who expressed themselves with a vehemence of 
gesture extremely alarming to my mother, who dis- 
covered what it related to from the frequent repetition 
of the words Jiag of truce ; the only ones she under- 
stood. She supported herself as well as she could, under 
this inauspicious introduction into the hostile territoiy ; 
and, remaining in her chair, her horse was led by a 
soldier to the quarters of General Matthew or Mat- 
thews, who commanded in Brunswick. Here she a- 
lighted, and was shown into a parlour, where, in a 
few minutes, were set before her a decanter of wine and 
some biscuits. Being faint, and much in need of refresh- 
ment, she helped herself to a biscuit, and drank two 
glasses of wine ; the first having proved so cordial and 
restorative to her dejected spirits as to induce her to take 
a second. General Matthews did not keep her very long 
in waiting ; and, on his appearing, being made acquaint- 
ed with her object, and desire of being passed on to New 
York, as soon as might be convenient, he promised it 



BRITISH POST— OFFICERS. 



279 



should be attended to : His manner was that of a man 
of humanity and perfect good breeding. Upon leaving 
the General's quarters, her first care was to deliver the 
letter of Mr Vanhorne. She readily found the house of 
the person to whom it was addressed, (I think Mr 
Clarkson,) was invited in, and seated alone in a parlour. 
There soon after came in two or three British officers, 
who, entering into conversation with the ease of men of 
fashion, gave her to understand that there had been a 
ball the preceding evening, at which had been the Miss 
Vanhornes, the ladies whom they now ' called to see. 
These gentlemen, one of whom was Sir John Wrottes- 
ley, were such frequent visitors at this house, that my mo- 
ther, during her stay in it, became pretty well acquaint- 
ed with them, as I found, upon her once meeting Sir 
John with Miss Susan Vanhorne, in the street of Flat- 
bush. Accosting her in a very sociable manner, he ad- 
verted to the circumstance of her rinding me, who had 
then the honour of being introduced to him ; and less 
I cannot say, British baronet though he was, since his 
demeanour was truly gentlemanly and worthy of his 
rank. By the same means she had the opportunity of 
often seeing Colonel Donope, a Major Hendricks, and 
a Major Pauli, all of the German troops ; the latter of 
whom was polite enough to take charge of her horse and 
chair ; to promise to send them to Mr Vanhorne's at 
Boundbrook, and, in the meantime, to supply the neces- 
sary forage. 

There were five of the Miss Vanhornes, all handsome 
and well bred, who, not long after, with their mother, a 
widow lady, removed from this place to Flatbush. A 
Mr Clarkson, who was a connexion of theirs, if I mis- 
take not, their uncle by marriage, and the very gentle- 



£80 SIE GEORGE OSBORNE BON MOT. 

man at whose house they staid at Brunswick, and at 
which my mother was so hospitably entertained, had a 
house also at Flatbush. Being a Whig, he had left it 
on the approach of the enemy ; and it had been a good 
deal injured by the Germans. He was now permitted 
to return to it ; and Mrs Vanhorne and her daughters 
came along with him. Perhaps the way to this measure 
was smoothed by the interest of the officers already men- 
tioned ; and ladies often are the means of mitigating the 
ferocities of war. 

After being detained a week or more at Brunswick, 
my mother, with a number of other passengers, embark- 
ed in a sloop or shallop for New York. The vessel, in 
her passage, was fired upon by some of our people from 
the shore, but without injury to any one, and the destin- 
ed port was at length attained without farther difficulty. 
Among the many unexpectedly agreeable circumstances 
of her situation at Brunswick, there were some unplea- 
sant ones she had no means of avoiding. Although the 
political conversation of the British officers ought to 
have been restrained in the presence of the Miss Van- 
hornes, who had some relations in our service, it was 
sometimes such as to be extremely offensive to an Ame- 
rican ear. An instance of this kind arose from the fol- 
lowing circumstance : A young man, of our army, had 
been recently killed by the British cavalry, and his body 
so cruelly hacked and mangled by their sabres, that Ge- 
neral Washington thought proper to send it in for their 
inspection. It was brought to the post of Sir George 
Osborne, who, with much admired sang J void, simply 
returned for an answer that he was no coroner. This 
circumstance was a theme of considerable merriment, 
and the bon mot of Sir George not a little applauded. 



APPLICATIONS FOR AUTHOR'S RELEASE. 281 



As Mr Bache, with his family, had been latterly a 
good deal in New York, and, consequently, his part of 
Mr Suydam's house become less necessary to him, he 
permitted my mother to occupy it during her stay at 
Flatbush. This was highly convenient to her, and she 
became, in some degree, naturalized to her new situation. 
Her accustomed flow of good spirits returned ; and, as 
she came pretty well supplied with cash, she contrived to 
get something better than clippers and supon j and to 
give one or two tea-drinkings, at which the rebel clan, 
that attended them, was honoured with the company of 
some of the Miss Vanhornes, avowed Whigs, notwith- 
standing their civility to the British officers. She also 
availed herself of the opportunity of learning from Ma- 
jor Williams the art of making Johnny cakes in the 
true Maryland fashion ; and good part of an afternoon, 
I remember, was spent in the notable cookery. But 
these recreations did not interfere with the object of her 
expedition, and her design of getting me home. I, in 
vain, endeavoured to dissuade her from her purpose. 
She was resolved to prove the result of an application ; 
and, in this view, in one of her first visits to New York, 
called upon Mr Galloway, who was supposed to have 
much influence at head-quarters. He spoke encourag- 
ingly of the attempt, and said, he had little doubt but it 
would succeed. What would be the proper mode of ap- 
plying to Sir William Howe ? she asked. By memorial, 
said Mr Galloway, at the same time, kindly offering to 
sketch one out for her if she chose it. As she could do 
no less than accept his offer, and thank him for it, he 
went to work, and, in a few minutes, produced what he 
said accorded with his ideas on the subject. He then 
read to her what he had written, purporting, that, 



282 



APPLICATION TO GENERAL HOWE. 



" Whereas Mrs — had always been a true and faith- 
ful subject of his Majesty George the Third ; and 
whereas her son, an inexperienced youth, had been de- 
luded by the arts of designing men.". O, Sir, said 
she, that will never do ; my son cannot obtain his release 
on these terms. Then, Madam, said he, somewhat 
peevishly, I can do nothing for you. She endeavoured 
to soften, as well as she could, the refusal to comply 
with what he had recommended, and left him a good 
deal depressed in her expectations. Fearful that, in her 
ardour to obtain her object, she might be tempted to go 
too far, I had cautioned her against yielding to any 
improper concessions ; and had solemnly declared that I 
would accept of my enlargement upon no other terms 
than those of an exchange or a parole. This first dis- 
comfiture did not induce an abandonment of her pur- 
suit : In a matter, which interested her feelings, no one 
was more persevering ; and she continued to advise 
with every one she thought likely to have influence, 
and a disposition to assist her. Among the rest, 
she addressed herself to a Mr Andrew Elliot, a per- 
son of respectability, and well known both in Philadel- 
phia and New York. His advice was, that she should 
go at once in person to General Howe. Those you have 
applied to, or may apply to, said he, have little or no 
interest, though they may not choose to say so ; but a 
direct personal application to the commander-in-chief 
will, I verily believe, be propitious to your wishes. She 
had been some time between Flatbush and New York 
before this was suggested to her ; and she secretly resolv- 
ed to take an opportunity of putting it in execution. On 
one of her excursions to the city, she had been waited 
upon by her old acquaintance, Captain Grant, of the 



APPLICATION TO GENERAL HOWE. 



283 



42d regiment. From him she found that Colonel 
Stirling, and most of the old officers of the regiment, 
were there ; but, upon Grant's being unable to deny that 
he, and, consequently, the rest of them, knew she had 
a son a prisoner, she at once testified, by the coldness of 
her manner, that she had expected something better from 
them than a total neglect of me. Unacquainted with the 
human heart, under the baneful influence of party fury, 
and making no allowance for the repulsive nature of 
misfortune, especially when coupled with imputed guilt, 
she had made calculations little warranted by the prac- 
tice of the world, more particularly of that part of it 
which is flushed with prosperity. 

On account of some meditated operation of the army, 
no one at this time was permitted to pass the lines ; and, 
so far from getting me home with her, she was not with- 
out anxiety respecting her own return, which had been 
already longer protracted than she had counted upon. 
This interdiction of intercourse continued for several 
weeks ; but as soon as it was removed, and it became 
probable that General Howe's attention was less en- 
grossed by great concerns, she determined to give the 
advice of Mr Elliot a trial. Accordingly, one morning 
she went to New York, and without acquainting me with 
her design, which she knew I would oppose, boldly wait- 
ed upon Sir William Howe ; and, asking to speak with 
him, was shown into a parlour, where, taking a seat, and 
meditating upon the manner of addressing him when he 
should appear, he came into the room, and had got pret- 
ty near her before she perceived him. Rising, she said, 
Sir William Howe, I presume ! He answered by a bow. 
She then made known her business, doubtless, in her 
best style of elocution ; and concluded by expressing the 



284 APPLICATION TO GENERAL HOWE. 

greatness of her obligation for his Excellency's permis- 
sion for me to go home with her on parole ; and then 
immediately to take up arms against us again, I suppose ! 
said the General. By no means, Sir ; I solicit his release 
upon parole ; that will restrain him until exchanged : 
but, on my own part, I will go farther, and say, that if 
I have any influence over him, he shall never take up 
arms again. Here the feelings of the patriot were wholly 
lost in those of the " war- detesting" mother. The Ge- 
neral seemed to hesitate, but gave no answer. On the 
renewal of her suit, however, he appeared, by his man- 
ner, (for he was sparing of words,) to assent, and so she 
construed it. But, to put the matter out of doubt, she 
asked — Have I your Excellency's permission for my son 
to go home with me on his parole ? Bowing, he answer- 
ed, Yes. May Colonel Miles and Major West, added 
she, be permitted to go also ? Now, Madam, observed 
the General, you are making two requests instead of one. 
She begged his pardon for presuming to do so, as she 
ought certainly to be satisfied with the great favour al- 
ready granted ; and inquired, if she was to mention the 
matter to Mr Loring. He said it was unnecessary, as 
the proper measures would be taken to effect the pur- 
pose. The reason of her mentioning Colonel Miles and 
Major West was, that they had already obtained a pro- 
mise of being liberated on parole ; and she was appre- 
hensive, that, unless they were put upon the same foot- 
ing with me, I should suspect improper terms had been 
made, and mar the whole business. This caution, pro- 
bably, was unnecessary ; the boon was extended to these 
gentlemen, as I presume it would have been, had they 
not been mentioned. From the General's quarters she 
immediately went to Mr Loring, whom she had known 

10 



AUTHOR LIBERATED ON HIS PAROLE. 285 

in Philadelphia, where he had some time resided, and 
acquainted him with the indulgence which had been 
granted her ; upon which he was pleased to observe, that 
it was more than I was entitled to, as not one of the pri- 
soners had been more upon his high horse. 

Whatever grounds there may be for ascribing cruelty 
to General Howe, it must be admitted, that no obdura- 
cy appeared at this interview ; and I have been careful 
to give it precisely as it was related by my mother. 
War, indeed, in its essence, is cruelty, especially civil 
war : its tendency is to make men ferocious and merci- 
less. In conflicts, in which our lives are continually at 
stake, we, at length, become callous, even to the loss of 
our own party, and have, of course, still less concern for 
the destruction of our adversaries, notwithstanding that 
particular situations may sometimes call forth striking 
examples of sympathy and generosity. When, more- 
over, we consider the foe as obnoxious to legal punish- 
ment, our hearts are too apt to be steeled against all 
" compunctious visitings of nature." Such seems to 
be the nature of man ; and the apathy of Howe, to the 
miseries of his prisoners, serves to show that he was too 
like the bulk of his species, ever prone to severity against 
the opposers of established authority, when partaking of, 
or friendly to it. What was the conduct of the Duke 
of Alva in the Low Countries ? That of the British, 
which we, as liege subjects, did not then disapprove, 
against the rebels in the year forty-six, commemorated 
by Smollet in his " Mourn, hapless Caledonia, mourn ?" 
What were the hideous enormities of the French repub- 
licans against the people of La Vendee, and what mer- 
cy was evinced towards Burr by the high-toned advocates 
of prerogative under the mild sway of Mr Jefferson ? 



286 



REFLECTIONS ON WAR. 



Though the abuse of power is always detestable, yet it 
may not be improper to look at home before we devote 
others to destruction as monsters of unheard of cruelty. 
I neither have palliated, nor do I mean to palliate, the 
sufferings of the prisoners at New York : they were 
shocking to humanity, and no one witnessed them with 
more anguish than myself ; but this is no reason that 
we should not ask ourselves, whether it was to be ex- 
pected, that they were, at once, to be set at liberty, and, 
if not, what other mode or place of confinement was 
within the power of the enemy ? Or, if the want of 
good and sufficient food and other accommodations was 
the cause of the mortality, are we perfectly sure they 
had better to administer ? If, in an entirely new state of 
the world, we are, on account of former injuries, to re- 
ject the aid of the only nation upon earth which has 
power to rescue us from impending perdition, it certain- 
ly behoves us to inquire calmly into the extent of her 
aggressions, and, for our own sakes, if not for her's or the 
sake of justice, to admit the effect of any alleviating cir- 
cumstances which may be found. But few of us, I 
trust, are in the happy predicament to have been so hy- 
sterically alarmed during the war as to be unable to 
forgive ; or to have incurred disgraces which can on- 
ly be washed out and avenged by the common destruc- 
tion of our old enemy and ourselves. 



AUTHOR LEAVES LONG ISLAND. 



287 



CHAPTER XL 

The Author leaves Long Island for New York and Eliza- 
bethtown — Arrives at Philadelphia — Meets the Object of an 
Early Attachment — Public Feelings. 

It was not long before the welcome summons arrived 
for our repairing to New York for the purpose of being 
transported from thence, in a flag vessel, to Elizabeth- 
town ; and, upon this occasion, we were escorted, to the 
end of the village, by a no small troop of our less lucky- 
fellow prisoners. It was made a condition, by Loring, 
that our boarding should be paid before we left Flat- 
bush ; and the heart of old Jacob was accordingly glad- 
dened, by the sight of a sum of money he had despaired 
of receiving. He and I parted very good friends ; 
and it is but justice to say, that the treatment I receiv- 
ed from him, and his family, Mr and Mrs Hagerman, 
was both civil and obliging. As there was no subject 
upon which we prisoners had been so much in the dark, 
and were, at the same time, so anxious to be informed 
of, as that of the state of our army and public affairs in 
general, Tudor, on my coming away, furnished me with 
a kind of cypher, by which, as soon as I had time to in- 
form myself, I was to satisfy him by letter on certain 
points he particularly wished to know. The disguise 
was not in the character, but in the substitution of one 
piece of information for another, — for instance, a lady, 



288 



AUTHOR ARRIVES AT NEW YORK. 



who was to be named, was to signify the army, and, if 
that was strong and in a prosperous train, it was to be 
indicated by announcing the health and charming looks 
of the lady. There was a scale in the key by which the 
intelligence might be graduated ; and it was so contriv- 
ed, as to admit of the transmission of pretty satisfactory 
information in a few important particulars. Knowing 
the deep interest that was taken in the expected commu- 
nication, it was among my first cares, on getting home, 
to perform this duty. But I must admit, that my 
statements, though correct in the main, were rather 
more flattering than rigid truth would warrant. I 
could not endure the thought of reducing my compa- 
nions in misfortune to despair. It was certainly admissi- 
ble, on this occasion, to adopt the practice of painters; 
and, in preserving the lineaments and character of the 
countenance, to render the portrait as pleasing as possi- 
ble. It had the effect, as I afterwards learned, to put 
them in good heart : for, although I had not said every 
thing which might have been wished, it was ascribed to 
a propensity I was supposed to have, of looking rather 
on the unfavourable side of things ; and, as I, so little 
sanguine, had ventured to say so much, it was inferred, 
that I might, with truth, have said a great deal more. 

The particulars of this pleasing trip to New York 
have entirely escaped my memory ; as how we travelled, 
though I presume it was in a waggon for the conveni- 
ence of carrying our baggage ; whether it was in the 
forenoon or afternoon ; whether we left the city on the 
day we reached it, &c. though, as to this, it is more than 
probable that it was not until the day after, as I well re- 
collect breakfasting with my mother at the house of Mr 
Matthews, the mayor, and that his daughter, who 



AUTHOR AllllIVES AT NEW YORK. 289 

entertained us, was so much to my taste, that, for the 
moment, I quite forgot the politics of her father, and 
might even have swerved, perhaps, from my loyalty to 
an allegiance, a thousand times sworn elsewhere. But it 
must not be imagined, from the circumstance of this 
breakfast, that I had apostatized from my principles. I 
have, fortunately, an excuse for accepting civilities from 
the offspring of an inveterate, and reputedly persecuting 
Tory, which, I am not without hope, will obtain my 
pardon from the most determined and least compounding 
republican of the present hour. A Miss Seymour, a 
cousin of Miss Matthews, had long been desirous of get- 
ting to Philadelphia to see her father, who lay sick there; 
and as it was known to Mr Matthews that my mother 
was soon to go thither, he had made himself acquainted 
with her, and recommended his niece to her protection 
in the meditated journey. This it was that procured me 
the honour of breakfasting with Miss Matthews, with 
whom her cousin stayed. But who, pray, was this sick 
Mr Seymour ? methinks I hear some high-toned fastidi- 
ous seventy -six man exclaim. He was, you may rest as- 
sured, Sir, no " anti-revolutionary adherent of the ene- 
my." He was no less a personage than Commodore 
Seymour, who at this time had the command of the De- 
laware gunboats. — Yes, commodore of the gunboats ! 
Another peccadillo, if haply they may be so called, of a 
similar complexion, I must confess myself guilty of; 
though, from an exuberance of good fortune not always 
attending my imputed apostacies, I have, if I would avail 
myself of it, an equally good come-off here. To make 
apro/er£,then,of my offence, with its ablution along with 
it f I undertook to bring out, and actually did bring out 
with me, at the request of Mr Tench Coxe, now in the 

T 



290 



TRAVELLING COMFANIONS-^MR COXE. 



full tide of republican orthodoxy, a letter to a lady in 
Philadelphia, to be delivered by my own hand to another 
lady in that city ; which commission I faithfully executed. 
I cheerfully did that for him, which shortly before would 
have been the greatest favour to myself : 

Haud ignarus mali, miseris succurrere disco. 

Having alluded to this gentleman before, and in a 
manner that may not be pleasing to him, although I have 
said nothing which does not arise from facts, of which 
he will not deny the correctness, I here sincerely avow, 
that I am much more disposed to do him a good than 
evil office. Notwithstanding the contrasted vicissitudes 
of our fortune, and that the great eras of his political 
ascension have been those of my depression, I have not 
forgotten our boyish days, of which he, not long since, 
put me in mind ; my early acquaintance in his family ; 
the pleasant hours I have passed with himself and his 
brother, (nearer my own age,) as well at his father's house 
in town, as at his seat on the Schuylkill ; and that his 
mother was always spoken of by mine as the nearest friend 
of her youth. Such recollections are far more grateful 
to the heart than the bitter collisions of interested man- 
hood, or the "fury passions" of political dissension. 

But not to linger in New York at a moment so preci- 
ous, I have to state, that, after the signing of a new parole 
by Miles, West, and myself, at the office of Mr Loring, 
our little party, with the addition of Miss Seymour, em- 
barked in a small sloop forElizabethtown-point, then held 
by us. The officer commanding on this occasion was a 
son of Dr Achmuty, among the most distinguished in 
New York for his zeal in the royal cause. The beha- 
viour of this gentleman was perfectly agreeable to us ; 



ARRIVAL AT AMERICAN CAMP. 



29 



and we parted on the most civil terms. It is not impos- 
sible, though such rapid promotions are hardly to be look- 
ed for in the British army, that he may be the General 
Achmuty, who not long since acquitted himself so well 
at Buenos Ayres ; as he was stated in the newspapers 
to be a son of the Doctor. The weather being fine, but 
with very little wind, our passage was a pleasant one ; and 
in the course of the day, we had once more the happi- 
ness of treading our own ground. I should in vain en- 
deavour to describe my feelings on this occasion ; for al- 
though they were chastised by the recollection, that my 
present liberty was held on sufferance, they were yet 
light, joyous, and tumultuary. I had been about eight 
months captive ; and it was more than a year since I 
had seen Philadelphia. It must now have been, from 
my best data for ascertaining it, about the middle of Ju- 
ly. Our army lay at Morristown ; and after casting 
about for the means of being conveyed thither, we at 
length found them in a coal-waggon, little inferior to a 
coach and six, in a journey which too much crowded 
the mind with pleasing ideas, to admit of much concern 
about the choice of a vehicle. When within a few miles 
of our destination, we met the general on horseback, 
with three or four attendants. He recognized us, and 
stopping a few minutes, congratulated my mother on the 
success of her errand ; and at going on informed us that 
he should return to camp in a few hours, where he ex- 
pected to see us. By his appointment, on his return, 
Colonel Miles, Major West, and myself, waited upon 
him at his marquee in the evening. In the course of 
conversation, he asked what we conceived to be the objects 
of General Howe, provided the question did not, in our 
opinion, interfere with our parole. Colonel Miles tak- 



292 GENERAL WASHINGTON COLONEL HAMILTON. 



ing the word, replied, that, in his opinion, he meditated 
a co-operation with the northern army by means of the 
Hudson. The general heard him out, and then observed, 
that indications and probabilities both tended to that 
conclusion ; but that, nevertheless, he had little doubt 
that his object was Philadelphia. I mention this, as it is 
stated by Mr Marshall, that he was a good deal embar- 
rassed on this occasion, and rather inclined to believe, 
that the movements of General Howe would be up the 
Hudson. Whatever might have happened afterwards to 
alter or unsettle his opinion, it was certainly at this time, 
as I have mentioned ; and he spoke as if his conviction 
was strong. He had unquestionably good intelligence \ 
and a person who had communicated with him, had not 
long before been executed as a spy at Brunswick. This 
man, who generally resided at New York, under the dis- 
guise of a zealous royalist, had been indiscreet enough to 
unbosom himself very fully to Major Williams, who, in 
the spring of this year, on the prospect of an exchange, 
which, however, proved abortive, had been summoned 
to that city. He gave him much information as to what 
was passing there ; and among other things which re- 
garded us, told him that interest had been made for my 
going out on parole, but I was considered not sufficient- 
ly well disposed (the fashionable phrase for yielding 
Whiggism) to be entitled to the indulgence. It was but 
a few weeks after this interview with Williams, that, in 
attempting to induce two British soldiers to desert to 
our army with intelligence, he was detected and suffered. 

The day of our arrival, and the succeeding one, we spent 
at Morristown; and here, for the first time, I had the plea- 
sure of knowing Colonel Hamilton. He presided at the 
general's table, where we dined ; and in a large compa- 



AMERICAN ARMY. 



293 



ny, in which there were several ladies, among whom I 
recollect one or two of the Miss Livingstons and a Miss 
Brown, he acquitted himself with an ease, propriety, and 
vivacity, which gave me the most favourable impression of 
his talents and accomplishments — talents, it is true, which 
did not indicate the solid abilities his subsequent career 
has unfolded, but which announced a brilliancy which 
might adorn the most polished circles of society, and 
have fitted him for the part of an Algarotti at the court 
of a Frederick. 

Vous, que les graces et les ris 
Formerent pour flatter et plaire, 

to borrow the words of the king, in an address to this 
favourite : Or, in reference to his latter conduct and ma- 
tured capacity, where shall we find one to whom the 
language of Tibullus to Messala would better apply ! 

Nam quis te majora gerit castrisve, forove ? 

Who the state's thunder better form'd to wield, 
And shake alike the senate and the field ! 

With Colonel Tilghman, another of the general's aids, 
I was well acquainted, as he was a Philadelphian, and 
had been a lieutenant of the light infantry company of 
Greens, already mentioned. By him and Colonel Ha- 
milton I. was taken in the evening to drink tea with 
some of the ladies of the village, where were also those 
with whom we had dined. 

I had been extremely anxious to see our army. Here 
it was, but I could see nothing which deserved the name. 
I was told, indeed, that it was much weakened by de- 
tachments ; and I was glad to find there was some cause 
for the present paucity of soldiers. I could not doubt, 
however, that things were going well. The commander- 



294 



AMERICAN ARMY GENERAL WAYNE. 



in-chief and ail about him were in excellent spirits ; and 
as to General Wayne, whom I waited upon at his quar- 
ters, he entertained the most sovereign contempt for the 
enemy. In his confident way, he affirmed that the two 
armies had interchanged their original modes of warfare. 
That for our parts we had thrown away the shovel, and 
the British had taken it up, as they dared not face us 
without the cover of an intrenchment. I made some 
allowance for the fervid manner of the general, who, 
though unquestionably as brave a man as any in the ar- 
my, was, nevertheless, somewhat addicted to the vaunt- 
ing style of Marshal Villars, a man who, like himself, 
could fight as well as brag. By the by, I do not know 
whether this talent might not have been of use in our 
army : it certainly is, or at least is considered to be so 
in a French one, since, of all the gasconaders in the 
world, the Gallic commanders must confessedly take the 
pas. It had been humorously stated in the English 
prints, that upon a gentleman, who had been in America 
and seen our troops, being asked what was their uniform, 
he replied, In general it is blue and buff, but by this 
time it must be all buffi The period for this unity of 
colour, however, had not yet arrived; though, from 
the motley shabby covering of the men, it was to be in- 
ferred that it was rapidly approaching. Even in Ge- 
neral Wayne himself there was, in this particular, a con- 
siderable falling off. His quondam regimental, as co- 
lonel of the 4th battalion, was, I think, blue and white, in 
which he had been accustomed to appear with exempla- 
ry neatness ; whereas he was now dressed in character 
for Macheath, or Captain Gibbet, in a dingy red coat, 
with a black rusty cravat, and tarnished laced hat. In 
short, from all I could see, I was by no means warranted 



OCCURRENCES ON THE ROAD. 



295 



in supposing that our affairs were in a very prosperous 
train, notwithstanding the cheerful appearance at head- 
quarters : but I endeavoured to suspend my opinion un- 
til I should have longer and better means of forming a 
conclusion. 

We hired a waggon at this place to carry us to Mr 
Vanhorne's at Boundbrook, where my mother expect- 
ed to find her horse and chair, agreeably to the arrange- 
ment made with Major Pauli. This was a subject of 
much raillery on the road, particularly with Colonel 
Miles, who could not persuade himself that a Hessian 
could forego so fine a chance of plunder ; and he took it 
for granted, that the major had not only appropriated 
the equipage to himself, but sold it long since, and put 
the proceeds in his pocket. But, on the contrary, in 
the strutting phraseology of Burgoyne, he had been 
" Conscious of the honour of soldiership," and with 
good faith performed what he had promised. We had, 
in fact, met the poor beast in question, on the road 
to Morristown, but quantum mutatus ab illo ! how 
changed from the sleek, well-fed animal, that had, about 
six weeks before, entered the town of Brunswick ! A 
constant padding of the hoof for this space of time, first 
on the royal, and then on the rebel side, with such ca- 
sual supplies of forage as campaigning affords, had re- 
duced him to the continental standard ; and although it 
had been suggested to my mother as he passed with the 
chair, that they might be hers, she was unable to recog- 
nize either ; the chair she could not claim, and as to the 
horse, she was sure he was not hers. 

Whether there were any arrangements with Mr Van- 
home, I do not know ; but his hospitality ought certain- 
ly to have been recompensed by an unlimited credit on 



296 AUTHOR REACHES PHILADELPHIA. 

the public stores. His house, used as an hotel, seemed 
constantly full. It was at this time occupied by Colonel 
Bland of the Virginia cavalry, and the officers of his 
corps, to whom we were introduced, and among others, 
if my memory does not mislead me, to Captain Lee, af- 
terwards so distinguished as a partisan, and now known 
as General Harry Lee. Notwithstanding the number 
of guests that were to be provided for, there appeared 
no deficiency in accommodation ; and we supped and 
lodged well. As the horse and chair were not expected 
back for a day or two, Major West, who was in no hur- 
ry, undertook to wait for it, and bring it on to Philadel- 
phia ; while the rest of us, who had objects more or less 
attracting in view, pursued our way the next morning. 
No other incident on the road occurred, interesting 
enough to have left any trace in my memory, except the 
meeting with Mr and Mrs Coxe, at Neshaminy Ferry. 
Matters had been arranged for this interview with my 
mother on her way to New York ; and they now met 
her in consequence of a notice from her, that she would 
be there at an appointed time. Their object was, to 
learn what she might know of their son, as well as son- 
in-law, Mr Andrew Allen. They were deeply affected 
at the dispersed situation of their family, and feelingly 
alive to the unhappy effects of civil dissension. The old 
gentleman, I recollect, blamed the step which had been 
taken by Mr Allen and his son ; alleging, that they 
had been precipitated into it by Christian Huck, who 
had assured them, that measures were in agitation for 
their immediate arrest and confinement. 

We reached Philadelphia in the evening, where, it 
will be enough for me to say, that my fondest anticipa- 
tions were realized, in a meeting with the object which 



MEETS THE OBJECT OF HIS AFFECTIONS, S97 

had caused the deepest sighs of my captivity. Were I 
dealing in fiction, or speaking of another, a more parti- 
cular representation might be required, of so auspicious 
a winding up, of a more than twelvemonths absence, in- 
cessantly galled by sickly hope and feverish uncertainty. 
But, in situations of tender interest, the fastidious deli- 
cacy, or, as the French might call it, the mauvaise Jwntc 
of English manners, forbids a man to place himself. It 
is observable, that this highest seasoning of French me- 
moir writing is wholly omitted by Mr Cumberland, who 
must have known the nation's taste. He gives us to 
understand, indeed, that he was married ; and more 
than once marshals his children before us ; but he never 
ventures to disclose a single circumstance of his love, or 
to descant upon what ought to be considered as the sine 
qua non of his two conditions of a husband and a father. 
Mr Gibbon, it is true, touches upon his attachment to 
Mademoiselle Curchod, afterwards Madame Necker ; 
but evidently with a mortal fear of being laughed at, for 
only glancing at his " early love." Perhaps nothing is 
more characteristic of the manners of the two nations 
than this very circumstance, which serves also, among 
others, to justify Sterne, in his singular declaration, that 
the French are too serious. An amour in their hands, 
be it their own or another's, is always an extremely grave 
affair ; and thence derives an interest, which an English 
writer, in his own case, would be sure to spoil, by a levity 
assumed from the apprehension of ridicule. But, to 
whatever cause this diversity of sentiment may be owing, 
it shows the superior decorum of English literature, as 
formed in the school of Addison, Steele, Johnson, &c. to 
that of the French, under the guidance of Voltaire, 
Rousseau, Raynal, &c. ; the one, by its circumspection, 



298 



ARRIVAL AT READING. 



cherishing religion, morals, and government ; the other, 
by its licentiousness, undermining them all. 

Having now brought myself back to Philadelphia, 
from whence I marched the preceding summer, it natu- 
rally puts an end to the narrative of my campaign and 
captivity ; as, though yet a prisoner, I was at home. 
What I have further to say, therefore, will have less the 
air of adventures ; and I shall, consequently, be relieved, 
I hope, from so minute an attention to my own concerns. 

One of the first things which struck us, on getting 
within our own territory, was the high price of wine and 
other liquors. We attributed this to their growing scar- 
city, though equally owing, probably, to the incipient 
depreciation of the paper currency, of which we had then 
no idea. We saw, to our great surprise, no military pa- 
rade upon our journey, nor any indication of martial vi- 
gour on the part of the country. General Washington, 
with the little remnant of his army at Morristown, seem- 
ed left to scuffle for liberty, like another Cato at Utica. 
Here and there we saw a militia man with his contrast- 
ed coloured cape and facings ; and we found, besides, that 
captains, majors, and colonels, had become "dog-cheap'' 
in the land. But, unfortunately, these war-functionaries 
were not found at the head of their men. They, more 
generally, figured as bar-keepers, condescendingly serv- 
ing out small measures of liquor to their less dignified 
customers. Still were they brimful of patriotism, the 
prevailing feature of which was, to be no less ardent in 
their pursuit, than fervent in their hatred of Tories.* 



* The generous exertions of the Philadelphia troop of cavalry, 
and other portions of the militia, in the preceding winter, are ho- 
nourable exceptions to the general supineness. 



ARRIVAL AT READING. 



299 



During a stay of a few days in Philadelphia, my mo- 
ther and myself, I recollect, dined at President Han- 
cock's. He had been one of the opposers of her scheme 
of going into New York ; but was sufficiently a man of 
the world to put on an appearance of being pleased with 
its success. Yet, as he was among the most conspicuous 
on the American side, and deeply staked in the issue of 
the contest, it is not uncharitable to suppose that he was 
not very cordially gratified by an event which might give 
to the adverse cause any colour of clemency. But I have 
no right to attribute his advice upon the occasion to other 
than the most friendly motives ; since mine, had I been 
consulted, would have been the same. 

My mother, as already mentioned, having removed 
her residence to Reading, thither, in company with the 
lady so often adverted to, whose family was also esta- 
blished there, we proceeded in high spirits. Many other 
Philadelphians had recourse to this town, as a place of 
safety from a sudden incursion of the enemy; and, among 
a score or more of fugitive families, were those of Gene- 
ral Mifflin and my uncle, as I have called Mr Biddle, 
though only standing in that relation by marriage. It 
was also the station assigned to a number of prisoners, 
both British and German, as well as of the principal 
Scotch royalists that had been subdued and taken in 
North Carolina. I soon discovered that a material 
change had taken place during my absence from Penn- 
sylvania ; and that the pulses of many that, at the time 
of my leaving it, had beaten high in the cause of Whig- 
gism and liberty, were considerably lowered. Power, to 
use a language which had already ceased to be orthodox, 
and could therefore only be whispered, had fallen into 
low hands. The better sort were disgusted and weary of 



300 



POLITICAL FEELINGS. 



the war. Congress, indeed, had given out that they had 
counted the cost of the contest ; but it was but too appa- 
rent that very many of their adherents had made false 
calculations on the subject, having neither allowed enough 
for disasters in the field, nor domestic chagrins, the ine- 
vitable consequence of a dissolution of old power and the 
assumption of new. It was, in fact, just beginning to be 
perceived, that the ardour of the inflamed multitude is 
not to be tempered ; and that the instigators of revolu- 
tions are rarely those who are destined to conclude them, 
or profit by them. The great cause of schism among the 
Whigs had been , the declaration of independence. Its 
adoption had, of course, rendered numbers malcontent ; 
and thence, by a very natural transition, consigned them 
to the Tory ranks. Unfortunately for me, this was the 
predicament in which I found my nearest and best friend, 
whose example had, no doubt, contributed to the forma- 
tion of my political opinions, and whose advice, concur- 
ring with my own sense of duty, had placed me in the 
army. I now discovered, that we no longer thought or 
felt alike ; and though no rupture took place, some cold- 
ness ensued ; and I have to regret a few words of aspe- 
rity which passed between us, on occasion of the French 
alliance. But this was but a momentary blast \ as 
neither of us was infected with that hateful bigotry 
which, too generally, actuated Whigs and Tories, and 
led to mutual persecution, as one or other had the ascen- 
dancy. As to the Whigs, the very cause for which they 
contended was essentially that of freedom ; and yet all 
the freedom it granted was, at the peril of tar and fea- 
thers, to think and act like themselves ; the extent, in- 
deed, of all toleration proceeding from the multitude, 
whether advocating the divine right of a king — the di- 



POLITICAL FEELINGS. 



301 



vine sovereignty of the people — or of the idol it may be 
pleased to constitute its unerring plenipotentiary. Tole- 
ration is only to be looked for upon points in which men 
are indifferent ; or where they are duly checked and re- 
strained by a salutary authority. 

Mr Edward Biddle, then in a declining state of health, 
and no longer in Congress, apparently entertained senti- 
ments not accordant with the measures pursuing ; and, 
in the fervid style of elocution for which he was distin- 
guished, he often exclaimed that he really knew not what 
to wish for. " The subjugation of my country," he 
would say, " I deprecate as a most grievous calamity, and 
yet sicken at the idea of thirteen unconnected petty de- 
mocracies ; if we are to be independent, let us, in the 
name of God, at once have an empire, and place Wash- 
ington at the head of it." * Fortunately for our exist- 
ence as a nation, a great proportion of those, whose ear- 
ly exertions tended to that issue, were not aware of the 
price by which it was to be acquired ; otherwise, my 
knowledge of the general feeling at this time, so far as 
my means of information extended, obliges me to say 
that it would not have been achieved. Not that disgust 
and despondence were universal among the leading and 
best informed Whigs, but an equal proportion of disaffec- 
tion to independence, in the early part of the year 1776, 
must have defeated the enterprise. Still, it may be ob- 
served, that, as Whiggism declined among the higher 



* I have presumed to put in the wrong those who were adverse 
to the declaration of independence ; and the high ground on which 
we have since stood fully justified me ; but present appearances 
seem again to unsettle the question in the minds of those, at 
least, who are heterodox enough to doubt the eligibility of a depen- 
dence on France. 



80S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE— DR ERANKLIN. 

classes, it increased in the inferior ; because they who 
composed them thereby obtained power and conse- 
quence. Uniforms and epaulets, with militia titles and 
paper money, making numbers of persons gentlemen who 
had never been so before, kept up every where through- 
out the country the spirit of opposition ; and, if these 
were not real patriotism, they were very good substitutes 
for it. Could there, in fact, be any comparison between 
the condition of a daily drudge in agricultural or me- 
chanic labour, and that of a spruce militia-man living 
without work, and, at the same time, having plenty of 
continental dollars in his pocket ! How could he be 
otherwise than well affected to such a cause ! 

Shortly after the declaration of independence by Con- 
gress a constitution had been formed for the common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania. This was understood to have 
been principally the work of Mr George Bryan, in con- 
junction with a Mr Canon, a schoolmaster ; and it was 
severely reprobated by those who thought checks and 
balances necessary to a legitimate distribution of the 
powers of government. Dr Franklin was also implicate 
ed in the production ; and either his participation in it, 
or approbation of it, was roundly asserted by its fautors. 
The Doctor, perhaps a sceptic in relation to forms of go- 
vernment, and ever cautious of committing himself, had 
thrown out an equivoque about a waggon with horses, 
drawing in opposite directions ; as, upon the adoption of 
the federal constitution, he told a pleasant story of a self- 
complacent French lady who always found herself in the 
right. But whether he meant by his rustic allusion to 
show his approbation of checks or otherwise, is an enig- 
ma that has never been solved, nor is it worth the trouble 
of solution. The constitutionalists, however, claimed 

10 



CHARACTER OF DR FRANKLIN. 



303 



him ; and, whether he thought with them or not, he was 
too prudent to disoblige them. It is rather probable the 
philosopher was of opinion that the ferment of the revo- 
lution should be left to work itself off ; that the effect 
could not be produced by the exhibition of paper seda- 
tives ; and that, therefore, the form of a constitution was 
scarcely worth quarrelling about. His observations em- 
braced moral, no less than natural, subjects : And, as he 
had discovered that oil would smooth the ruffled surface 
of the sea, so had he found it most effectual in assuaging 
the troubled minds of his fellow men. Hence, his de- 
meanour to both parties was so truly oily and accommo- 
dating, that it always remained doubtful to which he 
really belonged ; and while president of the executive 
council, to which office he had been elected on his return 
from France, he sedulously avoided voting on questions 
which partook of the spirit of party. No man had scan- 
ned the world more critically than the Doctor ; few have 
profited more by a knowledge of it, or managed it more 
to their own advantage. Old, and without an object to 
intrigue for, he seemed wholly devoted to his ease and 
amusement ; and I have been told by a gentleman who 
acted with him as vice-president, that he not only de- 
volved upon him the whole business of the department, 
but even declined the trouble of thinking. As to the 
constitution, whose provisions it was sometimes necessary 
to consider, it did not appear to him that he had ever 
read it ; or, if he had, that he deemed it worthy of re- 
membering. In short, as to the political concerns of 
the state, he was apathy itself ; and, like King Lear, it 
was obviously his "fast intent to shake all cares and 
business from his age." 

With respect to Mr Bryan, so conspicuous at this era 



304 LEADING MEN MR BRYAN MR CANON. 

in the home department, he was one of those whose 
memory treasures up small things with even more care 
than great ones. He was said to be a very diligent read- 
er, and was certainly a never weary monotonous talker, 
who, in the discourses he held, seldom failed to give 
evidence of an acquaintance with the most minute, re- 
condite, and out of the way facts ; insomuch that a bet 
was once offered that he could name the town- crier of 
Bergen-op-Zoom. As Ireland had given him birth, he 
was probably like the bulk of his emigrating countrymen, 
in the antipodes at all points, to whatever was English, 
and a staunch patriot, of course. It was, moreover, his 
passion, or his policy, to identify himself with the people, 
in opposition to those who were termed the well hor?i 9 a 
designation conceived in the genuine spirit of democra- 
cy, and which, as it may be supposed, did " yeoman's 
service" to her cause, now dispensing with its use from 
a just deference to its well born advocates from Virginia 
and her dependencies. In other respects Mr Bryan was 
well enough : Let us say, a well meaning man, and even 
one who, in the main, felt he was acting the patriot : 
For this part, it is well known, is played in very differ- 
ent styles. Should any reader require a proof of this, I 
might refer him to the modes of Washington and Jeffer- 
son. Some only see danger, bless their optics ! on the 
side of aristocracy : and, therefore, rivet themselves with 
all their might in an anti -patrician spirit of perverseness 
to every thing candid, or noble, or honourable. Nothing 
is republican with them, but as it is crawling and mean, 
and candied over with a fulsome and hypocritical love 
for the people. I do not say that Mr Bryan was actu- 
ated by such motives, but merely that his patriotism was 
of the humble character they are calculated to inspire. 

8 



MR CANON. 



305 



Of his colleague, Mr Canon, it may not be uncharitable 
to presume, that, having the little knowledge of man, and 
scholastic predilection for the antique in liberty, which 
generally falls to the lot of a pedagogue, he acted accord- 
ingly. * But death quickly snatched him away, osten- 
dent terris hunc tantum fata. These constituted the 
duumvirate which had the credit of framing the consti- 
tution, and thence laying, in Pennsylvania, the corner- 
stone of that edifice, which, however retarded in its pro- 
gress by aristocratical interferences, towers, like another 
Babel, to the skies, and will continue to tower until final- 
ly arrested and dilapidated by an irremediable confusion 
of tongues : for anarchy ever closes the career of demo- 
cracy. 



* As to myself, who always find it impossible to separate from 
my idea of a good government, somewhat of ignoble fireside com- 
fort and tranquillity, I must say that I have but a poor opinion of 
old Roman felicity, notwithstanding the immense amor pair ice that 
attended it. 



U 



306 



PHILADELPHIA THREATENED. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Philadelphia Threatened — General Washington marches to 
meet the Enemy — Battle at Brandywine — British take Pos- 
session of Philadelphia — Subsequent Operations — Character 
qf the Republican Chiefs — Society at Reading — Temper of 
the Times — The Author Married. 

General Howe had remained inactive during the 
summer, and it was not until the latter part of August 
that it became manifest that Philadelphia was his object. 
This rendered it expedient, in the opinion of the active 
Whigs of that city, to put out of the way of mischief 
the most influential and zealous of the disaffected ; seve- 
ral of whom were, accordingly, on authority of Congress, 
apprehended and deported to the western parts of Virgi- 
nia. On their way thither, they passed through Read- 
ing ; and it being proposed, by some of their old fellow- 
citizens there resident, to show them some attention in 
their misfortune, the proposition was generally approved, 
and I was among the number of those who called on them 
at the inn at which they stopped. Here we found some 
of the principal and most respectable Quakers, Mr 
James Pemberton, Myers Fisher, and several others, 
whom I do not, with certainty, recollect. Mr Fisher was 
the only one of this society with whom I was personally 
acquainted ; and he, I remember, took occasion signifi- 
cantly to observe, that " I did not look as if I had been 

21 



WASHINGTON MARCHES TO MEET THE ENEMY. 307 



starved by those sad people the British." But I found 
among them another acquaintance of an wholly different 
order. This was no other than my old friend Pike, the 
fencing-master, who, although he had dissembled so well 
at the outset of the business, as to render it dubious 
whether he was for or against us, had, in the sequel, it 
seems, evinced himself a true-hearted Briton, to which 
circumstance he owed the honour of his being in his 
present very good company, as he termed it. The red 
coat and laced hat of Pike were, to be sure, very strik- 
ingly in contrast with the flat brims and plain drab-co- 
loured garments of the rest of the assemblage : neverthe- 
less, from an internal similarity, this seemingly discord- 
ant ingredient incorporated perfectly well with the 
mass ; and Friend Pike, as he was called, officiating in 
the capacity of a major domo or caterer at the inns they 
put up at, was a person, I found, of no small consider- 
ation with his party. The prisoners were not much de- 
jected, probably looking upon themselves as martyrs to the 
cause of their country ; and, in fact, though apparently 
well pleased with the civility we showed them, their man- 
ner rather indicated, that they considered us as more 
objects of pity than themselves. How much is it to be 
lamented, that the public good should not always be so 
manifest as not to be mistaken ! If this were the case, 
how many of the fantastic tricks we play off against 
each other, in its name, might be spared ! But then, we 
should no longer be the self-important " forked ani- 
mals, 5 ' " the quintessence of dust," called man. 

Having drawn together his forces, General Washing- 
ton marched to meet the enemy, who, from the head of 
Elk, was directing his course to Philadelphia. As it 
had been given out, by the disaffected, that we were 



SOS 



REVIEW OF THE ARMY. 



much weaker than, in truth, we were, the General 
thought it best to show both Whigs and Tories the real 
strength he possessed ; and, in this view, took his route 
through the city, the bellorum maxima merces, or, at 
least, the great object of the campaign, and the point, 
which, if gained, would, in the opinion of Mr Galloway, 
be decisive of the contest. I happened to be there at 
the time, and, from the coffehouse corner, saw our army, 
with the commander-in-chief at its head, pass down 
Front Street. The sight was highly interesting to per- 
sons of all descriptions ; and, among the many who, 
perhaps, equally disclaimed the epithet of Whig or of To- 
ry, Mr Chew, from an upper window in the house of 
Mr Turner, appeared a very anxious spectator. By the 
bye, it might savour of bigotry to impute guilt to this 
want of decision. In civil commotions, there is general- 
ly so much to disapprove, on both sides, and the issue is 
so little answerable to the designs of the well-meaning 
menjembarked in them, that neutrality, if it could be 
maintained, might often be the most eligible part. 
Atticus was, perhaps, as good, and, probably, a wiser 
man than either Cicero, or Pompey, or Cassar. There 
are certainly times in which inaction becomes virtue, 
notwithstanding that active ardour may be more conge- 
nial to upright intention ; and that it is in the glowing 
temperament of a Cato, disdaining that " his house 
should stand secure and flourish in a civil war," that 
the noblest feelings of an honest heart are to be looked 
for. And yet, this very Cato, under the guidance of 
the same poet who puts this heroic sentiment into his 
mouth, is made to counsel his son to " live retired, and 
to content himself with being obscurely good." 

The impression made by this review of the American 



ACTION AT BR ANDY WINE* 



309 



army, it is to be presumed, was rather favourable than 
otherwise, from the propensity of persons unaccustomed to 
the sight of large bodies of men to augment them. But it 
was very disproportioned to the zeal for liberty, which 
had been manifested the *y ear before. It amounted to 
but about eight or nine thousand men, according to Mi- 
Marshall ; but these, though indifferently dressed, held 
well burnished arms, and carried them like soldiers, and 
looked, in short, as if they might have faced an equal 
number with a reasonable prospect of success. 

The action which ensued at Brandywine, on the 
eleventh of September, is an instance, among many 
others furnished by history, both of the temptation to 
dispute the passage of a river by fronting the enemy on 
the opposite side, and of the inefficacy of such attempts. 
The difficulty and ineligibility of these undertakings are 
noticed by most of the writers on the art of war, and 
particularly by the Marquis De Feuqueres. To a per- 
son of any military experience, who reflects how easy it 
must be to distract the opposing army by fallacious de- 
monstrations, in a situation at once concealed from obser- 
vation, and exempted from the peril which results from 
movements in the face of an adversary, in a state to pro- 
fit by them, the little chance of succeeding in the effort, 
on a merely defensive plan, must be apparent. Where, 
indeed, the defending general shall permit himself to 
become the assailant, if occasion should offer, he, in some 
degree, balances advantages ; and the conception of Ge- 
neral Washington, as mentioned by Mr Marshall, of 
crossing at the lower ford to attack the enemy's right 
under Knyphausen, was masterly ; and might, if rapidly 
put in execution, have handsomely turned the tables. 
It can hardly be doubted, however, that a position on 



8 



310 



ACTION AT BRANDY WINE . 



the enemy's flank to the westward, would have been 
more eligible than that taken in front ; and that the 
means of annoying and possibly crippling him on his 
march, which was all that could reasonably be looked for 
from an army so inferior as oufs, might have offered at 
this river or at Schuylkill. This was, probably, at one 
time contemplated, under the recommendation, as it was 
said, of General Greene. But the public clamour demand- 
ed that a battle should be risked for the city ; and I well 
remember, that it was given out at Reading, on the sug- 
gestion of General Mifflin, that Greene, of whom he was 
no friend, was jealous of southern influence, and there- 
fore indifferent to the fate of Philadelphia. But if 
Greene really advised the measure attributed to him, 
thereby securing the open country to our army in case 
of disaster, in preference to the plan adopted, and which, 
in addition to its other faults, tended to place us in the 
nook formed by the course of the Delaware, I cannot but 
say, that, whatever were his motives, and we have no 
ground to presume them bad, he was right. Yet, if 
Congress required that the enemy should be fought, and 
we have good authority that they did require it, the op- 
portunity of bringing him to action, in any other mode 
than that of placing ourselves directly in his way, might 
have been lost. 

But why so much caution, it may be asked, against a 
foe in the very heart of the country ? Why not rather 
turn out en masse, surround, and make a breakfast of 
Mr Howe and his mercenaries ? Could not a population 
of two millions of souls have furnished fighting Whigs 
enough for the purpose? Where were the multitudes 
which used to appear in arms, in the commons of Phila- 
delphia ? Where the legions of New England men that 



REFLECTIONS ON NATIONAL STRENGTH. 



311 



hemmed in Gage at Boston? Where, in short, the 
hundred and fifty thousand men in arms throughout the 
continent, spoken of by General Lee * and others, at 
the beginning of the contest? Where were the Pennsyl- 
vania riflemen, those formidable, unerring marksmen, 
each of whom could venture to put a ball in a target, 
held by his brother? How came it, that that excellent 
jest of a British dragoon pursuing one of them round a 
tree, was not exemplified on this occasion? These 
things promised well ; they were flattering in the ex- 
treme, and admirably calculated to buoy us up in a con- 
fidence of the martial superiority of freemen to slaves. 
Yet, on the day of trial, from whatever cause it proceed- 
ed, the fate of the country and its liberties was always 
committed to a handful of mercenaries, the very things 
which were the eternal theme of our scorn and derision. 
The fact must either be, that the effective strength of a 
nation does, after all, reside in regular disciplined forces, 
or that appearances were lamentably deceitful; that all the 
patriotic ardour we had at first displayed had already eva- 
porated ; and that the gallant affair of Bunker's Hill and 
others were but the effects of momentary excitement. 
America does not seem to be a soil for enthusiasm ; and 
I am not at all disposed to dispute the assertion contain- 
ed in a letter of General Du Portail, in the time of the 
war, that there was more of it in a single coffeehouse in 
Paris than on our whole continent put together. From 
these facts, and facts they assuredly are, let our theore- 
tical men calculate the probable result of a formidable in- 



* " Not less than an hundred and fifty thousand gentlemen, yeo- 
men and farmers, are in arms, determined to preserve their liberties 
or perish." — Letter from General Lee to General Burgoyne, 



312 REFLECTIONS ON NATIONAL STBENGTH. 



vasion of our country in our present state of preparation ; 
and if, in the heroic epoch alluded to, when there had 
been really a promise of great things, so little was done, 
how much less is rationally to be expected from the empty 
vapouring of demagogue valour. Would it have been cre- 
dited in the year 1775, that a British army of eighteen 
thousand men could have marched in perfect security from 
the Chesapeake to Philadelphia ? that a much smaller 
force could have penetrated through the Jerseys to the 
Delaware ? and that mere partizan-bodies could have tra- 
versed the southern states in utter contempt of the long 
knife of Virginia ? All these things were done ; and yet 
our babbling statesmen will talk, t 4 . Ye gods ! how they 
will talk," of the irresistible prowess of a nation of free- 
men ! From the perseverance of Spain, when compared 
with the short-lived exertions of Austria and Prussia, 
some argue the superiority of a determined people to re- 
gular armies. But it is not certainly like Spain that we 
would wish to have our country defended to be first over- 
run and destroyed ! Neither can the glory we aspire to 
be merely that of the boxer, who bears a great deal of 
beating, and solely depends on out winding his adversary. 
I have lately seen sneers at what are called technical ar- 
mies ; but what are we to call those with which Napoleon 
has achieved his victories and attained his present fearful 
ascendancy ? We can hardly say they are not technical, 
because in part composed of conscripts; and if by the term 
is meant disciplined, who will deny them that qualifica- 
tion ? 

Previously to Sir William Howe's getting possession of 
Philadelphia measures were taken by General Washing- 
ton to give him battle a second time. The two armies 
were on the point of engaging, and the encounter was only 



MEA.SUKES OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 



318 



prevented by a heavy fall of rain. The weather continu- 
ed wet for a day or two ; and, by damaging our ammu- 
nition, rendered it inexpedient to seek the enemy. While 
our army had been preparing for action, I have been in- 
formed by several discerning officers, that the general dis- 
covered unusual impetuosity ; and that, as he rode along 
the line, exhorting his men to do their duty, his manner 
evinced an extreme impatience of ill fortune, and a deter- 
mination to retrieve it or perish in the attempt. 

Although defeat had been the consequence of his un- 
equal conflicts with the foe, and his country seemed lost 
to the generous ardour which had once inspired it, his 
manly mind was not subdued. Of this he gave an illus- 
trious instance in his assault of the post at Germantown. 
That the British army was not destroyed on this occasion, 
and Philadelphia recovered, has been represented by cer- 
tain malcontents as a shameful dereliction of a victory al- 
ready gained ; and General Lee, sneeringly, denominates 
it a stroke of the bathos. But what would he that we 
should have done ? He would hardly have had us press 
on hap-hazard, without redressing the disorder which had 
taken place in our line ; a disorder which might have en- 
sued had even General Lee himself commanded. Be- 
sides, the step would have been by no means congenial 
with his own conduct at Monmouth ; which was suffi- 
ciently circumspect and respectful of an enemy he here 
seems to consider as nothing.* But the reputation of a 

* A partial advantage over the enemy was probably all that was 
contemplated on this occasion, and it was certainly as much as we 
had a right to calculate upon with our very inferior army. This 
may account for the delay at Chew's house, which has been so much 
censured by those who have rashly asserted that a complete victory 
was in our power. 



314? CHARACTER OF HIS OPERATIONS. 

commander ought not to depend upon a sarcasm ; and, 
in order to have shown wherein General Washington's 
conduct had been defective, Mr Lee should have fairly- 
set before us what Duke Ferdinand, whom he is pleased 
to bring into contrast, would have done. Possibly the 
duke might have duly respected the British grenadiers, 
and made comparisons, not altogether animating, be- 
tween the respective numbers, equipments, and disci- 
pline of his own army and that of his adversary. But 
this, as a prudent general, he would, doubtless, have 
kept to himself ; since, to proclaim the bravery of an ene- 
my to our own men, on the field of action, is, at best, 
but a doubtful mode of encouraging them. It would, 
however, be no just disparagement of General Washing- 
ton to admit his inferiority to Prince Ferdinand, in mat- 
ters wherein the desultory Indian warfare had furnished 
no experience. We had no right to count upon him as 
consummate in the science of tactics, or to hold him ful- 
ly competent to the nice arrangements required in the 
movements of an army, should it even be disciplined. 
Indeed, it was observable, and confirmed by every in- 
stance which came under my notice, that little benefit, 
with respect to the discipline of parade, so essential to 
the effect of operations on the large scale, was derived 
from any of the gentlemen who had been in the provin- 
cial service. The fortitude which is acquired from a 
familiarity with the perils and privations of war was con- 
spicuous in many ; but being too far advanced in life 
readily to acquire new habits, they were far from excel- 
ling in the business of manoeuvring, or in an aptitude of 
imparting to their men the air and adroitness of regular 
soldiers. In the situation of our army, necessarily defi- 
cient in discipline, something of that attention to minu- 



DEFEAT OF GENERAL BURGOYNE. 



315 



tiae ; that acquaintance with the duties of the adjutant 
and drill-serjeant, with the occasional exercise of them, 
which have been ascribed to the King of Prussia ; that 
searching eye which runs along the line, detecting, at a 
glance, the remissness of every lounger, might have been 
desirable in its commander, possessing, in other respects, 
exterior qualifications for the station in a degree not to 
be surpassed : a manner which at once inspired confi- 
dence and attachment ; a figure pre-eminently gentle- 
manly, dignified, commanding, equally removed from 
heaviness and flippancy, and blending the gravity of the 
sage with the animation of the soldier. Had it belong- 
ed to Alexander, Hephaestion would have lost his com- 
pliment, as it must infallibly have prevented the mistake 
of the mother of Darius. 

The success of General Howe ; the loss of Philadel- 
phia ; as well as the ground given in the northern quar- 
ter by the retreat of General St Clair, were amply coun- 
terbalanced by the utter extinction of Burgoyne's army 
on the fifteenth of October. As Reading lay in the 
route from Saratoga to Yorktown, where Congress was 
now assembled, we received, before that body, the par- 
ticulars of this glorious event from Major Wilkinson, 
who was charged with the dispatches of General Gates. 
But, without loading my Memoirs with obvious and 
trite reflections on this memorable occurrence, I turn a 
moment to myself to observe, That, were I a prey to 
the vulture of ill-starred ambition, the mention of a 
gentleman, with whom I commenced in the same rank 
my military career, and who is now in the chief com- 
mand of the American forces, might suggest, somewhat 
unpleasantly, the immeasurable distance he has left me 
behind ; but the recollections his name awakens with in- 



316 



SOCIETY AT READING. 



finitely more interest, are of a nature wholly different. 
They relate to pursuits and occupations of a character 
more congenial to that season of life when, as a student 
of physic, he attended medical lectures in Philadelphia, 
before either of us wore a uniform, and before a founda- 
tion was laid for the many strifes which have since en- 
sued. Thus much, without connecting him with any 
of them, I freely pay to the remembrance of an early 
friendship, ever renewed when casualties have brought 
us together, maugre the estranging influence of differ- 
ent party-associations. 

The ensuing winter, at Reading, was gay and agree- 
able, notwithstanding that the enemy was in possession 
of the metropolis. The society was sufficiently large and 
select ; and a sense of common suffering in being driv- 
en from their homes had the effect of more closely unit- 
ing its members. Disasters of this kind, if duly weigh- 
ed, are not grievously to be deplored. The variety and 
bustle they bring along with them give a spring to the 
mind ; and when illumined by hope, as was now the 
case, they are, when present, not painful, and when past, 
they are among the incidents most pleasing in retrospec- 
tion. Besides the families established in this place, it 
was seldom without a number of visitors, gentlemen of 
the army and others. Hence, the dissipation of cards, 
sleighing parties, balls, &c. was freely indulged. Ge- 
neral Mifflin, at this era, was at home, a chief out of 
war, complaining, though not ill, considerably malcon- 
tent, and apparently not in high favour at head-quarters. 
According to him, the ear of the commander-in-chief 
was exclusively possessed by Greene, who was represent- 
ed to be neither the most wise, the most brave, nor most 
patriotic of counsellors. In short, the campaign, in this 



AMERICAN GENERALS. 



317 



quarter, was stigmatised as a series of blunders ; and the 
incapacity of those who had conducted it unsparingly 
reprobated. The better fortune of the northern army 
was ascribed to the superior talents of its leader ; and it 
began to be whispered, that Gates was the man who 
should, of right, have the station so incompetently sus- 
tained by Washington. There was, to all appearance, 
a cabal forming for his deposition, in which, it is not im- 
probable, that Gates, Mifflin, and Conway, were already 
engaged, and in which the congenial spirit of Lee, on his 
exchange, immediately took a share* The well known 
apostrophe of Conway to America, importing, " That 
Heaven had passed a decree in her favour or her ruin, 
must long before have ensued, from the imbecility of her 
military counsels,' * was, at this time, familiar at Reading ; 
and I heard him myself, when he was afterwards on a visit 
to that place, express himself to the effect : " That no man 
was more a gentleman than General Washington, or ap- 
peared to more advantage at his table, or in the usual inter- 
course of life ; but, as to his talents for the command of an 
army, (with aFrench shrug,) they were miserable indeed." 
Observations of this kind, continually repeated, could 
not fail to make an impression within the sphere of their 
circulation ; and it may be said, that the popularity of 
the commander-in-chief was a good deal impaired at Read- 
ing. As to myself, however, I can confidently aver, that 
I never was proselyted, or gave into the opinion for a 
moment, that any man in America was worthy to sup- 
plant the exalted character that presided in her army. I 
might have been disposed, perhaps, to believe that such 
talents as were possessed by Lee, could they be brought 
to act subordinately, might often be useful to him * but 
I ever thought it would be a fatal error to put any other 



318 



AMERICAN GENERALS. 



in his place. Nor was I the only one who forbore to be- 
come a partizan of Gates. Several others thought they 
saw symptoms of selfishness in the business ; nor could 
the great eclat of the northern campaign convince them 
that its hero was superior to Washington. The duel 
which afterwards took place between Generals Conway 
and Cadwalader, though immediately proceeding from 
an unfavourable opinion expressed by the latter of the 
conduct of the former at Germantown, had, perhaps, 
a deeper origin, and some reference to this intrigue ;* as 
1 had the means of knowing that General Cadwalader, 
suspecting Mifflin had instigated Conway to fight him, 
was extremely earnest to obtain data from a gentleman 
who lived in Reading, whereon to ground a serious ex- 
planation with Mifflin. So much for the manoeuvring, 
which my location at one of its principal seats brought 
me acquainted with ; and which its authors were soon af- 
ter desirous of burying in oblivion. 

Among the persons who, this winter, spent much time 



* Not that General Cadwalader was induced from the intrigue 
to speak unfavourably of General Conway's behaviour at German- 
town. That of itself was a sufficient ground of censure. Conway, 
it seems, during the action, was found in a farm-house by Generals 
Reed and Cadwalader. Upon their inquiring the cause, he replied, 
in great agitation, that his horse was wounded in the neck. Being 
urged to get another horse, and, at any rate, to join his brigade, 
which was engaged, he declined it, repeating, that his horse was 
wounded in the neck. Upon Conway's applying to Congress, some 
time after, to be made a Major-general, and earnestly urging his 
suit, Cadwalader made known this conduct of his at Germantown; 
and it was for so doing that Conway gave the challenge, the issue 
of which was, his being dangerously wounded in the face from the 
pistol of General Cadwalader. He recovered, however, and, some 
time after, went to France. 



SOCIETY AT READING CAPTAIN SPEKE. 



319 



in Reading, was one Luttiloe, a foreigner, who was af- 
terwards arrested in London, on suspicion of hostile, de- 
signs ; also Mr William Duer, who either was, or lately 
had been, a member of Congress. His character is well 
known. He was of the dashing cast, a man of the world, 
confident and animated, with a promptitude in display- 
ing the wit and talents he possessed, with very little re- 
gard to the decorum which either time or place imposed. 
Of this he gave an instance one day, at Mr Edward 
Biddle's, which, had it been on a theatre, where the 
royal cause was predominant, 1 should have relished ; as 
it was, it was unpleasant to me. Captain Speke of the 
British army, a prisoner, was present, with his eye on a 
newspaper, several of w T hich had lately come out of Phi- 
ladelphia, when Duer, taking up another, began to read 
aloud, commenting, with much sarcasm, on the para- 
graphs as he went along. Speke bore it a good while ; 
but, at length, Duer's remarks became so pinching, that 
he was roused to a reply. To this he received a ready 
rejoinder, and a warm altercation was on the point of 
taking place, when Captain Speke prudently took the re- 
solution of relinquishing the field; and, taking up his 
hat, abruptly retired. As Speke, although a thorough 
Englishman, was a well bred man, with whom I had be- 
come acquainted, and had exchanged some civilities, I 
was not a little hurt at this circumstance, as the company 
in general seemed to be. Duer, for his part, triumphed 
in his success, displaying a heart, which, however bold 
on the safe side of the lines, might, nevertheless, have 
been sufficiently meek on the other ; at least, such a con- 
duct w r ould but conform to the result of my observations 
on persons who play the bashaw in prosperity ; and I be- 
lieve it is pretty generally agreed to be no mark of game 



$20 



PRISONERS — CAPTAIN SPEKE. 



to crow upon a dunghill. While upon the subject of 
Captain Speke, I will finish the little I have to say of 
him, He belonged, if my recollection does not fail me, 
to the same regiment with Mr Becket ; at least, he was 
well acquainted with him, and told me he had heard him 
speak of me. He was young and lively, with an addic- 
tion to that sly significance of remark, characteristic both 
of his profession and his nation ; and which may be 
pardoned, when accompanied with good humour. Taking 
up my hat one day, when at his quarters to take coffee 
with him and one or two others of his fellow prisoners, 
he observed, that it was a very decent one, which ' is 
more, said he, than I can say of those generally worn by 
the officers of your army ; they have precisely what we 
call in England the damn my eyes cock. At another 
time, having called upon me at my mother's, I was led, 
by some circumstance, to advert to the awkward form 
and low ceiling of the room ; but " Faith," said he, 
looking round, " you have made the most of it with fur- 
niture which was true enough, as it was unmercifully 
overloaded with chairs, tables, and family pictures. Such 
freedoms may fully justify me in scanning Mr Speke, 
who, to say the truth, was, in point of information, far 
above the level which is allowed to the gentlemen of the 
British army by Swift, and other writers of their nation. 
As to " your Noveds, and BlutarJcs, and Omurs, and 
stuff," I know not, if he was of the noble captain's opi- 
nion, in Hannah's animated plea for turning Hamilton's 
bawn into a barrack ; but he had read some of the Eng- 
lish poets ; and, speaking of Prior and Pope, I remem- 
ber his saying, that the former was much preferred to 
the latter by people of taste in England. But grant 
what we may to the sprightliness and easy gaiety of 



BRITISH OFFICERS ON PAROLE. 



321 



Prior, this can hardly be the award of sound criticism. 
Being heartily tired of the condition of a captive, Mr 
Speke was extremely anxious to get rid of it, and to this 
effect suggested, that by mutual exertion we might be 
exchanged for each other. He said, that if I could ob- 
tain permission for him to go into Philadelphia on parole, 
he had no doubt of having sufficient interest to effect it. 
I accordingly took the liberty to write to General Wash- 
ington on the subject, but was a long time in suspense as 
to the success of my application. An additional induce- 
ment to the step was, that both Colonel Miles and Ma- 
jor West had, by requisition of General Howe, repair- 
ed to Philadelphia; and I every day expected a similar 
summons. It had been given out that these gentle- 
men had not observed all the passiveness which had been 
enjoined upon them by their parole ; and I well knew 
that I was charged with a like transgression. I had 
spoken freely, it is true, of the treatment of prisoners ; 
and this was considered by the Tories, and some of the 
British officers in our hands, as very unpardonable in 
one who had been favoured as I had been ; and I was 
aware that I was threatened with a retraction of the in- 
dulgence. I remained, however, unmolested. The si- 
tuation of Miles and West, in the neighbourhood of the 
army at White Marsh, was, perhaps, the circumstance 
which gave colour to the accusation against them ; but 
they were not long detained. 

Besides, that it would have ill comported with the in- 
dulgence I enjoyed, it was abhorrent to my feelings to 
behave haughtily to a prisoner. There were two pup- 
pies, however, in that predicament, in whom I imme- 
diately recognized the insolent manner of a genuine 
scoundrel in red ; and these I cautiously avoided. They 

x 



BRITISH OFFICERS ON PAROLE. 



were subalterns ; one of whom, of the name of Wilson, 
was base enough, under the false pretence of being re- 
lated to the Captain Wilson, who he had some how 
learned had treated me with civility, to borrow a few 
guineas of my mother, which it unluckily slipped his 
memory to repay. Had 1 been aware of the application, 
the loan would have been prevented ; but I never knew 
of the circumstance until after his exchange. With the 
exception of these fellows, who, I had the mortification 
to hear, had found their way to General Washington's 
table, at the time of their being taken, all the prisoners 
in Reading behaved with much decency. Among them 
were a number of German officers, who had really the 
appearance of being what we call downright men. There 
was a Major Stine, a Captain Sobbe, and a Captain 
Wetherholt, of the Hessians, whom I sometimes fell in 
with. There were several others with whom I was not 
acquainted, and whose names I do not remember. One 
old gentleman, a colonel, was a great professional reader, 
whom, on his application, I accommodated with such 
books of the kind as I had. Another of them, a very portly 
personage, apparently replete with national phlegm, 
was, nevertheless, enthusiastically devoted to music, in 
which he was so absorbed as seldom to go abroad. I did 
not know this musical gentleman except by sight ; but 
I have understood from those who did, that, call upon 
him at what time they would, and like another Achilles 
in retirement, 

Amus'd at ease, the godlike man they found, 
Pleas'd with the solemn harp's harmonious sound : 

for this was the obsolete instrument from which he ex- 
tracted the sounds that so much delighted him. But of 
all the prisoners, one Graff, a Brunswick officer, taken 



BRITISH OFFICERS ON PAROLE. 323 

by General Gates's army, was admitted to the greatest 
privileges. Under the patronage of Dr Potts, who had 
been principal surgeon in the Northern Department, 
he had been introduced to our dancing parties ; and, 
being always afterwards invited, he never failed to at- 
tend. He was a young man, of mild and pleasing man- 
ners, with urbanity enough to witness the little triumphs of 
party without being incited to ill humour by them. Over- 
hearing a dance called for, one evening, which we had 
named JBurgoyne's Surrender, he observed to his part- 
ner, that it was a very pretty dance, notwithstanding the 
name ; and that General Burgoyne himself would be 
happy to dance it in such good company. There was, 
also, a Mr Stutzoe, of the Brunswick dragoons, than 
whose I have seldom seen a figure more martial ; or a 
manner more indicative of that manly openness, which 
is supposed to belong to the character of a soldier. I 
had a slight acquaintance with him ; and recollect, with 
satisfaction, his calling on me at the time of his ex- 
change to make me his acknowledgments, as he was 
pleased to say, for my civilities to the prisoners. 

Perhaps I may be excused for these trifling details, 
when it is considered, that they serve to mark the tem- 
per of the times, and to show, that they were not all 
fire and fury, as certain modern pretenders, to the spirit 
of seventy-six, have almost persuaded us they were. It 
ought to be granted, indeed, that an equal degree of to- 
leration was not every where to be met with. It would 
scarcely have been found in that description of persons, 
which soon arrogated, and have since voted, themselves 
the exclusive possession of all the patriotism in the na- 
tion. Even that small portion of the monopolists which 
resided at Reading, revolted at a moderation they did 



324 BRITISH OFFICERS ON PAROLE. 

not understand ; and all who were less violent and bi- 
goted than themselves were branded as Tories. All 
the families which had removed from Philadelphia 
were involved in this reproach ; and, in their avoidance 
of the enemy, to the manifest injury of their affairs, 
they were supposed to exhibit proofs of disaffection. 
Nor was I much better off: my having risked myself in 
the field was nothing: I should have staid at home, 
talked big, been a militia-man, and hunted Tories. 

In confirmation of my remark, that toleration was not 
among the virtues affected by those who were emphati- 
cally styled the people, I will instance the case of a 
young Scotch officer, of the name of Dunlap, who was 
one day beset in the street by certain persons overflow- 
ing with Whiggism ; and, for presuming to resent the 
insults he received from them, was not only severely 
cudgelled, but afterwards put to jail. This treatment 
might have fairly squared with that of our officers from 
the royal side, in relation to the fish-sellers ; though 1 
will undertake to aver, that, generally speaking, the pri- 
soners in our hands were treated both with lenity and 
generosity. Some time after this affray, happening, at 
a table in Philadelphia, to be placed by the side of Dr 
"Witherspoon, then a member of Congress, I took occa- 
sion to mention it to him ; and to intercede for his 
good offices, in regard to the liberation of Dunlap, who 
was still in jail. I counted something upon the nation- 
al spirit, supposed to be so prevalent among North Bri- 
tons ; and yet more upon the circumstance of knowing 
from Dunlap and two other young Scotchmen, his fel- 
low-prisoners, that Dr Witherspoon had been well ac- 
quainted with their families. I did not find, however, 
that the Doctor was much melted to compassion for the 

10 



BRITISH OFFICERS ON PAROLE. 



325 



mishap of his countryman, as he contented himself with 
coldly observing, that if I could suggest any substantial 
ground for him to proceed upon, he would do what he 
could for the young man. It appeared to me, that 
enough had been suggested by my simple relation of the 
facts ; and I had nothing more to offer. But whether 
or not my application was of any benefit to its object, 
my presentation of the laddies to the recollection of the 
Doctor seemed to have something of national interest 

ZD 

in it ; and had the effect to incite him to a shrewd re- 
mark according to his manner. He told me he had 
seen the young men soon after they had been taken, and 
was surprised to find one of them, whose name I forget, 
so much of a cub. His father, said he, was a very 
sprightly fellow when I knew him. This lad is the 
fruit of a second marriage ; and I immediately conclud- 
ed, when I saw him, said the Doctor, that Jemmey or 
Sawney something, mentioning the father's name, had 
taken some clumsy girl to wife for the sake of a for- 
tune. 

On looking back here, and adverting to the free ob- 
servations I have, from time to time, made, both on re- 
volutionary men and measures, I am aware that I have 
no forgiveness to expect from many, for attempting to 
rub off the fine varnish which adheres to them. But I 
set out with the avowed design of declaring the truth ; 
and to this I have most sacredly and conscientiously 
conformed according to my persuasions, even as to the 
colouring of each particular I have touched upon. The 
same veracity shall direct my future delineations, well 
knowing, that, independently of my obligation to do 
justice, this aione must circumscribe the merit of my 
Memoirs. That we were not, and still are not, without 



386 THE AUTHOR EXCHANGED AND MARRIED. 

patriotism, in an equal degree, perhaps, with other na- 
tions, I have no inclination to question ; but that a no- 
ble disinterestedness and willingness to sacrifice private 
interest to public good, should be the general disposition 
any where, my acquaintance with human nature neither 
warrants me in asserting or believing. The prevalence 
of generous sentiment, of which, no doubt, there is a 
portion in all communities, depends very much upon 
those who have the direction of their affairs. Under the 
guidance of Washington, both during the revolution and 
his administration of the general government, the ho- 
nourable feelings being cherished and brought into ac- 
tion, they had a temporary predominance over those 
which were selfish and base. But these, in their turn, 
having acquired the ascendancy, we may sadly recognize 
with the poet, that 

An empty form 
Is the weak virtue that amid the shade 
Lamenting lies, with future schemes amus'd, 
While wickedness and folly, kindred powers, 
Confound the world. 

The liberty I have taken, in making the reader the 
confident of the attachment I carried with me into the ar- 
my, and brought home with me, unimpaired, on the ex- 
tension of my parole, imposes it upon me, as a sort of 
duty in point of poetical justice, to announce my mar- 
riage, which took place in the spring of 1778. But this 
was not until my exchange had been notified to me by 
Colonel Boudinot, the commissary of prisoners : and ha- 
ving now little before me but the vapid occurrences of 
retired life, I shall here hold myself absolved from fur- 
ther attention to any matters merely of a personal or 
private nature. Captain Speke had gone into Philadel- 



REFLECTIONS. 



phia some time before ; and it is not improbable, that we 
had been exchanged for each other ; but of this I was 
not informed. I was now at liberty to act, and was also 
liable to be called into service ; but, however willing 1 
might have been to consider myself a soldier, or to obey 
orders, I had no regiment to join or men to command. 
The third battalion still existed in name, but with scarce 
a particle of its original materials. It was entirely 
changed as to officers and men, with the exception, per- 
haps, of one or two of the former, that had escaped cap- 
tivity by absence on account of sickness or otherwise. 
The affair of Fort Washington had an effect not unlike 
that of entering into a monastery in England, in days 
of yore : as, in the one case, a man was said to be civilly 
dead, so, in the other, he was militarily so \ and although 
as much alive as ever to corporeal wants and necessities, 
yet was he dead as an antediluvian, as to all purposes of 
worldly advantage. Nor was it the garrison alone, but 
the very event itself, that was offensive to remembrance ; 
and it has grown into a sort of a fashion among our an- 
nalists, to pass lightly over this inauspicious transaction, 
somewhat in the same spirit that Home, according to 
Lucan, was willing to forget the disastrous day of Phar- 
salia. 

Tempera signavit leviorum Roma malorum., 
Hunc voluit nescire diem. 

The compiler of the article America, in Mr Dobson's 
Encyclopaedia, does indeed inform us, that there was 
such a fortress, which, somehow or other, fell into the 
hands of the British, who, by the bye, did not catch a 
man of the garrison. Other chroniclers, of an humbler 
class, are equally concise upon the occasion ; and even 
the very fanciful biographer, who gives to the boyhood 



OCCURRENCES OF THE WAR. 



of General Washington certain prettinesses we should 
have little suspected it of, and to General Wayne the 
manners of a rustic booby, with the blundering facilities 
of a true Hibernian, finds in it no attractions for the 
strokes of his very popular pencil. These are but sum- 
maries, it is true, in which we ought not to look for full 
details ; yet, as they are more generally read than ampler 
histories, and thence tend to fix the colours of the time, 
it is of consequence that they should exhibit some resem- 
blance of the facts and characters they profess to treat 
of.* 

But whatever may have been the common reluctance 
to advert to the unlucky occurrences of the war, and the 
propensity to dwell only on pleasing ones, nothing can be 
more fair and free from misrepresentation than were the 
official statements both of Congress and General Wash- 
ington- Even the British officers, from an experience 
of their veracity, came to consider the name of Charles 
Thomson as a voucher not to be questioned ; nor was 
less respect due to the communications of the commander- 
in-chief, from which the annunciations of Congress were 
generally derived. Such was the spirit and the policy of 
seventy-six ; and they were successful as they were ho- 
nourable. Why, then, they should have been so lament- 
ably departed from, and a suppressio vert have become 
the primary maxim of our government, it is for the re- 
publicans of the Gallic school to explain. 



* There is no allusion in these remarks to the Life of Washing- 
ton, by Dr Ramsay, which, in fact, I did not see until after they 
were written. Though brief on the transaction, as the nature of 
his work required, he touches it with a due regard to truth and 
the reputation of those concerned. 



A VISIT TO THE CAMP. 



329 



CHAPTER XIII. 

American Affectation in Titles — Prisoners at Long Island — 
Supernumerary Officers — Character of General Lee — Mili- 
tary Anecdotes — The Author enrolled in the Militia — Qua- 
ker Principles — Character qfDr Franklin — Mrs Macaiday 
— Milton's Sentiments of Democracy — Party Spirit — The 
Author appointed Protlionotary of the County of Dauphin. 

My hankerings after the business of the tented field, 
which, dog's life as it is, I had become fond of, had led 
me to visit the camps both of White Marsh and Valley 
Forge, at each of which I spent a day or two. At the 
first we had a better army than I had yet seen. The 
post, too, I thought a good one ; and it soon after ap- 
peared to be sufficiently respected by General Howe, to 
induce him to decline attacking it, although he had ap- 
parently drawn out his army for the purpose. At Val- 
ley Forge the aspect of affairs was different, the army 
being reduced and in a wretched state. Baron de Steu- 
ben was, however, here ; and just beginning to infuse 
into it that discipline and regularity, in which it was 
still too deficient. On reaching the camp, I shaped my 
course for the tent of Colonel Stewart, who, I was in- 
formed, was at a barbacue on the banks of the Sehuyl- 
kill ; and being directed to the place, I found him there, 
together with the greater part of the principal officers of 
the army. It is scarcely necessary to say that the com- 
mander-in-chief was not there, nor any of those more 
immediately attached to his person. Neither was Ge- 



330 



AMERICAN AFFECTATION. 



neral Lee of the company. He had been invited, but 
had drily replied, that " he did not like barbacues." 
In fact, they are seldom a very attic entertainment ; and 
it is probable that Lee's mind was not disposed to hilari- 
ty. He had but lately been exchanged ; and it is not 
uncharitable to suppose, that he was beginning to disco- 
ver, that, much as he hated the British court, he was not, 
as he had once supposed, Americanior ipsis Americanis, 
more American than the Americans themselves. It being 
late in the afternoon, the party was joyous and pretty full 
of liquor ; and I had the chagrin to observe, that the 
drummer and fifer who made music for them, and were 
deserters from the enemy, were sneering at some of the 
gentlemen, who did not entirely preserve the dignity of 
their stations \ and were by much too liberal in the re- 
ciprocal use of the term general, for that oblivion to self- 
consequence, which is the most graceful attendant of 
condition, and so much appreciated in the British army, 
as to introduce a species of affectation in the other ex- 
treme, substituting Mr for the title of rank. Lee, for 
instance, says Mr Howe and Mr Wolfe ; and it was not 
always a disrespect, when a British officer said Mr 
Washington. I am sensible that it is against the laws of 
good-fellowship for a sober man to make reflections 
upon a mellow company into which he may chance to be 
introduced ; but I mention no names, and, indeed, my 
memory would hardly serve me were I disposed to do it. 
Still I have a perfect recollection of the circumstance ; 
and cannot but recognize, that there was no time, at 
which the question sometimes peevishly asked by Con- 
way, Did Congress see you before they appointed you ? 
might not have been applicable to some of the officers of 
our army, in every grade. 



ESCAPE OF PRISONERS- 



i MAJOR WILLIAMS. 



331 



On the first day of December 1777> m y fellow-prison- 
ers on Long Island were, on account of a suspected de- 
scent upon that place, put on hoard of a prison-ship, and 
there detained two weeks. Their treatment, it seems, 
was not to be complained of. It could hardly be other- 
wise, says the officer from whose information I give the 
statement, since it would not have been safe for any man 
or dozen of men to have treated us ill. During their 
confinement, Major Jack Stewart, before noticed in these 
Memoirs, and one or two others whom I do not remem- 
ber, found means to make their escape. A boat one 
evening happened to be fastened to the vessel's side. 
The chance of escaping in her was immediately suggest- 
ed by Lieutenants Forrest and Woodside, the latter also 
of Shee's regiment, and they resolved to make the at- 
tempt : but, previously to engaging in it, they stepped be- 
tween decks, either for some papers or articles of clothing 
that were in their trunks. In the meantime, Stewart and 
the others availed themselves of the opportunity, quietly 
let themselves down into the boat, cast her off, and let her 
drift astern of the ship. They were lucky enough to get 
clear of her un perceived, and at length to reach the Jer- 
sey shore in safety, notwithstanding that their elopement 
was soon discovered. But it being dark, pursuit was un- 
availing, as were also some random shots fired upon the 
occasion. The disappointment to Forrest and Woodside, 
when they found themselves supplanted, was extreme ; 
and still more cruel when it appeared that the adventur- 
ers had been successful. 

Early in the spring, I think, of 1778> I got a letter 
from Major Williams acquainting me with his release, by 
exchange, if I am not mistaken. It breathed the most 
extravagant joy j and the excessive friskiness he describes 



33$ ESCAPE OF PRISONERS ME FORREST. 

on touching our actual territory, put me in mind of that 
of Francis I., upon finding himself once more at liberty, 
after his long detention at Madrid. Williams, it is true, 
was not restored to a throne ; but he was restored to his 
country ; to the right of proclaiming his sentiments and 
wishes ; to the right of loco-motion and action ; and, above 
all, to the right of avenging his wrongs, and, particular- 
ly, a cruel confinement in the provost prison, from which 
his exchange had immediately delivered him. His motives, 
therefore, for exultation were not less than those of the 
king of France. 

In the summer following I had also notice of the libe- 
ration of Mr Forrest, which, from the singularity of its 
circumstances, requires some detail. It had been a set- 
tled opinion among us at Flatbush, that if the place, or we 
who were stationed there, by a military operation, should 
fall into the hands of our people for ever so short a time, 
we were ipso facto released from the obligation of remain- 
ing with the enemy notwithstanding our parole ; and it 
was under this idea, combined with a lucky and unexpect- 
ed adventure, that Forrest found himself a freeman. I 
know not how far this opinion of ours may be conform- 
able to the jus belli as established among nations, but it 
was our deduction from principles which we held to be 
correct, and of general and equal application. I think it 
is also recognized in the old play of Prisonbase, from 
which, if the idea was not original, it is more probable we 
derived it, than either from Grotius, Puffendorf, or Vat- 
tel. One Mariner, a New Yorker, in revenge for some 
real or supposed ill treatment from Matthews, the mayor 
of that city, made a descent, with a small party, upon the 
island, with the view of getting Matthews into his clut- 
ches, who, as I have already mentioned, had a house at 



ESCAPE OF PRISONERS— MR FORREST. 333 

Flatbush, and generally slept there. He had it also in 
view to obtain the release of a Captain Flahaven, who had 
been billetted, in my place, on Jacob Suydam. Dis- 
appointed in both objects, he liberated Forrest by means 
of his magical power, and made prisoners of Mr Bache 
and Major Moncrief, the latter of whom spent much of 
his time at Flatbush, where he had a daughter. But I 
will give the relation in the words of Mr Forrest, who, 
on my application for the particulars of the event, has 
thus communicated them in answer to certain queries pro- 
posed. " Mariner was the man who took me from Long 
Island. He was a shoemaker, and had been long con- 
fined and cruelly used, as I understood, by Matthews, 
who, it seems, knew him personally. The name of the 
officer who lodged with me was Flahaven, a captain, who 
had been in the provost with Mariner, and whom he par- 
ticularly wished to release ; but, having changed his quar- 
ters, he could not be got at. Mariner crossed from the 
Jersey shore, and retreated to and landed at the place of 
his departure, or near it, a distance of tw T o miles across. 
His party consisted originally of twenty militia men, in 
two flat-bottomed boats. At his landing on Long Island 
he left his two boats under the guard of five men, while 
he visited the interior; but these five hearing a firing, 
which was kept up upon us by the Flatbush guard while 
we were taking our prisoners, concluded that Mariner 
was defeated and taken ; so, without farther ceremony, 
they took one of the boats and made their escape. The 
other boat, as we reached the shore, was just going adrift; 
we were much crowded in her, but it fortunately was very 
calm, otherwise we could not have weathered it. Mat- 
thews was on the top of his house at the time of the search 
for him. We got from our place of landing in waggons 



334 ESCAPE OF PRISONERS MR FORREST. 



to Princeton. Mr Bache and Moncrief lodged there in 
the same house with me for two or three days. How they 
were disposed of afterwards I do not know, as I was sent 
on with an explanatory letter from Governor Livingston 
to General Washington ; but Bache, I think, was sent 
home shortly, and Moncrief also, (who was a good prize,) 
as a prisoner on parole. Mariner's party must have staid 
at Flatbush nearly two hours, for they were there some 
time before the alarm was taken, and there was afterwards 
time to dispatch an express to Brooklyn for assistance, and 
the reinforcement, which came in consequence, was pret- 
ty close upon us, as we could see them on the shore when 
we had left it about a quarter of an hour. This happen- 
ed on the 15th of June 177$, the very day two years I 
had marched from Philadelphia." 

From this episode it appears, that the moral of -ZEsop's 
fable, respecting the eagle at the top of the tree, that, 
by the law of power, had made free with the fox's whelps 
below, was very near being brought home to Mr Mat- 
thews. Mr Bache, as Forrest has told me, was over- 
whelmed with his disaster ; and interceded with him, as, 
from his civility to us, he had a right to do, for his good 
offices with Governor Livingston, which, I have no 
doubt, were duly exerted for him. Major Moncrief 
like an old soldier, submitted with a more equal mind to 
the fortune of war, reminding Bache, that he had often 
told him, they were not safe at Flatbush. But Bache 
had peculiar cause for dejection, on account of the con- 
sternation into which his wife and children had been 
thrown, by the attack of his house, and his being forci- 
bly seized and borne away in the dead of the night. 
Upon delivering Governor Livingston's letter to Gene- 
ral Washington, Forrest stated the circumstances under 



GENERAL EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. 335 

which he had come out, and had conceived himself liber- 
ated, but added, that, if the act did 'not meet his excel- 
lency's entire approbation, he begged to be permitted to 
return immediately to New York. The general observ- 
ed, that it was a nice case, on which much might be 
said on both sides, but that, at any rate, a return to con- 
finement was unnecessary ; that he was at liberty to go 
home, and that, if, upon consideration, he should be of 
opinion, that the mode of his release was not warranted 
by the rules and usages of war, a prisoner of equal rank 
should be exchanged for him. Not long after this en- 
terprise of Mariner, a general exchange of prisoners took 
place, and all were put upon an equal footing. To be- 
guile the tedious hours of captivity, Colonel Magaw had 
taken to himself a wife, as had one or two others. 

A policy had arisen from the pressure of our affairs, 
to give every man a commission who was likely to pick 
up a few recruits. This, at least, was the case in Penn- 
sylvania ; hence, as to officers, all the regiments were 
not only complete, but overflowing ; and upon the re-or- 
ganization of the army, there were a great many super- 
numerary. Of this description, those who had been ta- 
ken at Fort Washington emphatically were. They 
were considered as extinct, and their places had been 
supplied by others. A show, indeed, was made in the 
fall of 177§j of doing justice to their claims, so far as it 
might be practicable. But it was evident, that a rein- 
statement in the rank to which they were entitled by the 
rule of seniority, was not to be effected without extreme 
embarrassment, and injury to the service. A very few, 
who had been willing to engage in the scramble, had 
been retained ; but none without the chagrin of seeing 
new men, and numbers who had originally ranked below 



336 



SUPERNUMERARY OFFICERS. 



them, now above them. Captain Tudor contrived to 
squeeze in, as did aiso Captain Biles ; and I do not re- 
collect another of our regiment, except Bitting, who was 
provided for. He was a second lieutenant with us, and 
lost his life in the rank of a captain, at the time of the 
mutiny in the Pennsylvania line. In Marshall's Life of 
Washington, he is erroneously called Billing. But, on 
consideration, I rather think, that Bitting had not been 
a prisoner ; and if so, he is no exception to the general 
exclusion, and his advance in rank is naturally accounted 
for. He was at liberty to attend to his interests. I ne- 
ver applied for reinstatement ; but, had my country 
really wanted my services, and there been ^an opening, in 
which I could have been provided for, without too much 
degradation, I do not hesitate to say, that I should have 
laid aside all private considerations, and embraced it. 
To show that I do not exaggerate the difficulties which 
opposed a continuance in the army, I shall content my- 
self with referring to two letters of General Washington 
upon the subject. In the first, dated the 10th of No- 
vember 1777j addressed to Congress, he says : " Among 
the various difficulties attending the army, the adjust- 
ment of rank is not the least. This, owing to the seve- 
ral modes, the several principles that have prevailed in 
granting commissions, is involved in great perplexity. 
The officers of the Pennsylvania troops are in much con- 
fusion about it y in many instances, those who were ju- 
nior in rank, from local and other circumstances, have 
obtained commissions older in date, than those which 
were granted afterwards to officers their superiors before. 
This, with many other irregularities, has been, and is, 
the cause of great uneasiness ; and though precedency of 
rank, so claimed, should not be supported in justice, or 



GENERALS WASHINGTON AND LEE. 



337 



upon any principle, we find all, having the least pretence 
for the title, strenuous to support it, and willing to hold 
a superiority." In the second letter, dated August 
21st, 1778, relating to the restoration of Colonel Raw- 
lins, who had presented a memorial in behalf of himself 
and the officers of his corps, after doing ample justice to 
their bravery at Fort Washington, he says : " It seems 
hard that officers of their merit should be overlooked ; 
and a loss to the service that they should remain unem- 
ployed ; but the consequences that would attend their 
incorporation with any of the corps now existing appear 
too disagreeable to try the experiment." A conviction 
of the existence of these obstacles, concurring with mo- 
tives of a private nature, induced me to renounce the 
soldier's trade ; but not without poignantly regretting 
my " occupation gone," as often as " the spirit-stirring 
drum," or other " circumstance of glorious war," re- 
minded me of the deprivation. 

The bitter animosity of General Lee to the com- 
mander-in-chief after the affair of Monmouth is well 
known. There were not wanting a good number who 
thought he had been hardly dealt with ; and, with these, 
added to many that had real or imaginary grounds for 
discontent, and the still greater number who already 
saw, in Washington, a character and influence which might 
give a check to the democratic career they had in contem- 
plation, he was in hopes of being able to form a party. 
About this time, being in Philadelphia, I had the plea- 
sure, one day, of meeting my old friend Edwards in the 
street. He was now the aid-de-camp of General Lee, 
with the rank of major. He was lavish in the praise of 
his general, whom he spoke of as one with whose con- 
versation, abounding with wit and instruction, I could 

Y , 



338 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL LEE. 



not but be delighted, and proposed taking me to dine 
with him that very day. While we were yet upon his 
subject, the General appeared on the other side of the 
street, and crossing over to us, I had the honour of 
being presented to him. He soon, however, marred 
Edwards's proposal of dining at his quarters, by asking 
where he dined, and giving him to understand that he, 
the General, did not dine at home. Whether he was 
now in one of his saving moods, to which he was said 
to be occasionally addicted, and only meant this as a 
ruse de guerre to keep the war from his own territories, 
I know not, but certain it is, that Edwards had calculat- 
ed upon a different arrangement, and fully expected to 
have owed his dinner of the day to the cook of his Ge- 
neral. After a few minutes conversation I left him, but 
not before agreeing with Edwards upon a time and place 
of meeting next day. 

The Life of General Lee, as presented in the volume 
published by one of his friends, under the title of Me- 
moirs, holds out very salutary instruction to factious and 
discontented spirits. Though he commences his career 
among us as an American and a democrat, he at length 
subsides in the Englishman and aristocrat. He finds 
out that he has kept very bad company in America ; and 
that her independence, which he has been among the 
most ardent to promote, will be a curse rather than a 
blessing to her. Washington, to him, becomes another 
George the Third , and his " earwigs," courtiers, as 
corrupt as those of any sceptered calf, wolf, hog, or ass ; 
to use the language of his letter to Dr Rush. It must 
be confessed, however, that, if he acted to the best of his 
judgment at Monmouth, his treatment is to be lamented 
as a hard and ungenerous return for the zeal he once ma- 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL LEE. 



§39 



nifested in our cause. But his conduct in this affair, to 
say the least of it, betrays a total want of American feel- 
ing. Having, in the latter part of his captivity, been treat- 
ed with attention by the British officers, his old discon^ 
tents appear to have been effaced by the greater poignan- 
cy of new ones ; and if, as has been asserted, he exclaim- 
ed, in the hearing of his troops, that " the British gre- 
nadiers never run," it would almost seem a sufficient 
ground to convict him of disaffection, if not treachery. 
I shall not, however, impute them to him ; neither am 
I prepared to say that his conduct was unmilitary. I 
would rather suppose if he committed a fault it was be- 
cause he was too respectful of the enemy ; and that he 
was too scientific, too much of a reasoner, for a merely 
executive officer \ " for action too refined, 5 ' as Pope says, 
or as Voltaire expresses it : 

Mais souvent il se trompe a force de prudence, 
II est irresolu par trop de prevoyance, 
Moins agissant qu'habile. — 

As to his early republicanism, and fancied attachment to 
liberty and the rights of man, there is no reason to think 
him insincere. That he cordially detested, at least, the 
courtly arts for which he had not temper ; and in whose 
career, if he ever tried it, he had been far outstripped by 
more pliant competitors, T have not the smallest doubt ; 
but, if he supposed by an exchange of the sovereign one 
for the sovereign many, he was to restore the reign of 
manly candour and blunt honesty, how much, how very 
much, alas, was he deceived ! 

With all his abilities and acquaintance with the polite 
world, the general was certainly a very indiscreet man, 
with little dignity of character : Witness the frequent 



340 



MILITARY ANECDOTES. 



scrapes he got into, and particularly the ridiculous one 
with Miss Franks, in which the most complete success of 
the jeu d'esprit could have added nothing to the fame of 
the major-general. 

In my interview with Edwards the next day, he gave 
me a number of military anecdotes, and let me into the 
state of parties in the army. As might be supposed, he 
was a warm partisan of Lee, though, at the same time, 
expressing great respect for the virtues of the command- 
er-in-chief. Among other things, he gave me the details 
of Lee's quarrel with Mr William Henry Drayton, re- 
peating the words of the letter of defiance, of which he 
was the bearer, and in which Mr Drayton is sarcastically 
represented as a mere Malvolio, &c. — also of the duel 
with Colonel Laurens, in which he acted as the second 
or friend of Lee. Colonel Laurens and his attendant, 
Colonel Hamilton, were, it seems, rather late in coming 
to the ground. During the delay produced by this cir- 
cumstance, Edwards took occasion to amuse his principal, 
if amusement it might be called, with some metaphysical 
subtilties on predestination, free-will, &c. a little in the 
style of the disquisition of the Brissotines on a future 
state, when on their way to the guillotine. From the 
want of punctuality in the adversaries, he also suggested 
that they 'might not come at all ; but Lee replied, there 
was no danger of that, as Colonel Laurens was a man of 
unquestionable bravery ; and the observation was imme- 
diately verified by his appearance. The manner of fight- 
ing was somewhat new ; and, if I am not mistaken, it 
was on Lee's suggestion it was adopted. Taking their 
ground, and facing each other, it was agreed, that either 
should fire when he thought proper. Accordingly, they 
both advanced ; and the effect was, that, at the same in- 



MILITARY ANECDOTES, 



341 



stant, each presented and drew the trigger. Colonel 
Laurens's ball grazed the side of General Lee, carrying 
away some flesh, and producing a considerable effusion of 
blood. The principals proposed another shot ; but the 
seconds agreed that enough had been done, and so the 
affair ended, without the smallest bearing, however, on 
the point in controversy, to wit, whether General Lee 
was right or wrong in speaking reproachfully of the com- 
mander-in-chief ; and only establishing the fact, that the 
combatants could risk their lives with the gallantry and 
self-possession of soldiers and men of honour. 

Major Edwards farther gave me the particulars of a 
similar affair, in which he himself had been concerned, 
as principal, in Carolina ; and in which the small know- 
ledge he had derived from me in the noble science of fen- 
cing had enabled him to triumph over an adversary, who 
thought to obtain an advantage of him, by commuting 
the pistol, with which it had been at first agreed to fight, 
for the small sword. His skill in the weapon was not, 
indeed, brought to the test ; but the readiness he evinced 
to put it to issue, induced his prevaricating opponent to 
succumb and make him concessions* 

From his aptitude to take the tone of good company, 
and his close intimacy with Lee, whose manners and 
phraseology were in the style of the highest military 
school, this gentleman, whose first appearance had been 
so unpromising, had become a distinguished proficient in 
all the cavalier airs and " convenient seeming" of a man 
of the sword ; of which, the favour of Lee, in selecting 
him for his second in his duels, may be considered as a 
proof ; as the devising to him a third part of his landed 
estate in Virginia may be taken as a voucher for his satis- 
faction with him in the capacity of his aid de-camp. 



342 



AUTHOR ENROLLED IN THE MILITIA, 



As soon as it was understood at Reading that I was 
no longer in the army, care was taken to have me enrol- 
led in the militia ; and for declining to perform a tour of 
duty, which was immediately imposed upon me, I found 
myself fined in a sum, which I do not now recollect, but 
which, when reduced to specie, was far from inconsider- 
able. I must confess I considered this as very unfair 
treatment ; and, accordingly, submitted my case, in a 
memorial, to President Reed, who shortly after came to 
Reading, in consequence of a proclaimed intention to 
visit the different parts of the state, for the purpose of 
hearing and redressing grievances. I was not at home 
when he arrived, but had left my memorial with a friend 
to be presented to him. It was very favourably received, 
the gentleman who delivered it being instructed to in- 
form me, that the President would have been glad to 
have seen me at Reading ; that he considered the 
fine which had been imposed upon me very impro- 
per, and that he would do what he could to prevent its 
exaction. His interposition proved effectual ; and I had 
no farther molestation from the militia-men. 

During the high-handed game that was at this time 
playing by that description of patriots, who, from their 
close adherence to their homes, might emphatically be 
said to be fighting pro focis, a Mr Thomas Parvin, of 
the Society of Friends, was an object of much wanton 
oppression. He resided at Maiden-creek, about six miles 
from Reading, and was nearly broken up by the levies on 
his property for taxes and militia fines. A cow or a horse, 
for instance, was often taken and sold for some trifling 
demand, and no surplus returned. Having sons grown 
up, and em oiled in the militia, he was the more exposed 
to rapacity. He frequently came to my mother's to vend 

8 



WANTON OPPRESSION MB PARVIN. 



343 



some product of his farm, and, talking with him one 
day on the subject of his grievances, I was drawn into a 
discussion of the non-resisting principles of his sect ; and 
urging their impracticability in the present state of the 
world, in a manner that discovered sympathy for his suf- 
ferings, he was not displeased, and proposed lending me 
a treatise in defence of their tenets, which he begged I 
would read, and give him my opinion of. In a few days, he 
accordingly sent it, accompanied with a very long letter, 
so accurately written in all respects, as to convince me 
that Mr Parvin was a well educated man, and no mean 
polemic. In compliance with his request, after reading 
his pamphlet, I gave him, pretty fully, my observations 
in writing ; and here I concluded the discussion would 
terminate. In a few weeks afterwards, however, I found 
it renewed in a letter from Anthony Benezet, of Phila- 
delphia, This pious and truly benevolent man thus 
explains, in his first sentence, the cause of his address- 
ing me : — 

" Esteemed Friend, 
" My friend, Thomas Parvin, having communicated 
to me thy remarks with respect to the sentiments many 
in our society hold in the case of war, I found my mind 
drawn affectionately to salute thee, and take the liberty 
to inclose thee a collection of religious tracts, which I 
have, at different times, been instrumental in publish- 
ing." And he is further pleased to say — " I am per- 
suaded, that, to a man of thy generous turn of mind, ma- 
ny of the sentiments will not be disagreeable, particular- 
ly the extract from the writings of Soame Jenyns," &c. 
This was an extract from his View of the Internal Evi- 
dence of the Christian Religion, There were several 



344 



QUAKER OPINIONS ON WAR. 



other tracts in the volume, one of which, A Letter from 
Elizabeth Webb to Anthony William Boehm, Mr Be- 
nezet adds, " I think might prove agreeable to thy 
mother and aunt, whom I affectionately salute." As it 
is not my intention to lead the reader into the subject of 
this correspondence, it is enough to have barely stated 
it ; and it appears to me, that I should have been want- 
ing to myself had I suppressed an occurrence which pro- 
cured me the good opinion of these plain, but innoxious, 
intelligent, and pious men. 

In the summer, probably of 1782, or J 783, or there- 
abouts, Mr Ralph Izard, and Captain Gadsden, of South 
Carolina, being on a tour through Pennsylvania, brought 
me a letter of introduction from Colonel Magaw, at Car- 
lisle. Being desirous to render them all the attention 
in my power, I had the pleasure of often being with 
them. Captain Gadsden was a young man, who had, 
perhaps, never been out of America ; but Mr Izard, 
who was advanced in years, had spent much of his time 
in Europe, and was very entertaining on the subject of 
his travels, giving me, among other things, a more satis- 
factory account of the awful wonders of Pompeii and 
Herculaneum than I had yet received. His manner, 
though blunt, announced the style of the best company ; 
and though one of those who deliver their opinions with 
freedom and decision, he seemed untinctured with aspe- 
rity upon every subject but one ; but this never failed to 
produce some excitement, and his tone ever derived ani- 
mation from the name of Dr Franklin. When, there- 
fore, the Doctor's daughter, Mrs Bache, in speaking of 
the Carolinians, said, that " she hated them all from B 
to Z," the saying, I presume, must be taken inclusively ; 
since, though I know nothing of the sentiments of Mr 



CHARACTER OF DR FRANKLIN, 



345 



Bee, I am enabled to pronounce those of Mr Izard to 
have been Anti-Frank! inian in the extreme. What 
cause he had for this I do not know, but he certainly- 
lost no opportunity of inveighing against the philosopher, 
to whom, he said, he had once been warmly attached, 
and had attended as his friend at the time he was so un- 
mercifully bespattered by Wedderburne. I sat upon 
thorns, said Izard ; and had it been me that had been 
so grossly insulted, I should instantly have repelled the 
attack in defiance of every consequence, whereas, this 
old man sat cowering like a caitiff, without daring to ut- 
ter a syllable. But in repeating the words, I do not 
join in the reproach of the Doctor's forbearance. As he 
was not a ready public speaker, silence was, perhaps, most 
prudent and dignified. The extreme wariness of his 
character, it is true, is not more congenial to my feel- 
ings than to those of Mr Izard : Nevertheless, when I 
reflect that he possessed qualities, which have not only- 
enabled him to extend the limits of human knowledge, 
but have pre-eminently entitled him to the fame of a 
wise man ; that, to solidity of understanding, he added 
the amenity of wit and good humour, and that his weight 
and influence, so far as I know, have never been lent to 
inhumanity, immorality, injustice, or oppression, I am 
entirely disposed to acquiesce in the award of the world, 
and to consider him as one who has done honour to his 
country. He died before the volcanic explosion of the 
French .Revolution ; but, as he tells us in his life, he 
had an early and steady abhorrence of tyranny, we can- 
not, without giving the lie to this assertion, suppose, if 
he had lived, that he could, in any event, have been 
a Jacobin or the fautor of a ferocious despotism. 

Mr George Lux, of Baltimore, who had married a 



346 



VISITORS AT READING. 



daughter of Mr Edward Biddle, was at this time at 
Reading, and by me introduced to Mr Izard and Mr 
Gadsden. Mr Lux was the greatest reader in a certain 
line I have ever known. His historical knowledge was 
accurate to minuteness ; and he seemed intimately ac- 
quainted with the ramifications and affinities, not only 
of the great families in England, but also of those on 
every part of the continent of Europe. Of these he 
spoke with a precision which astonished Mr Izard, par- 
ticularly when he learned, that he had never been out of 
America. " To what purpose is it," said he, when 
afterwards speaking of Mr Lux, " that I have been tra- 
velling all my life, when this gentleman, who has never 
left his arm-chair, knows more of the countries I have 
visited than I do \ and what perplexes me most of all is, 
that he even knows better than myself the public busi- 
ness I was employed in, and which was of a secret na- 
ture." But this latter knowledge was obtained by- 
Lux's having officiated, for his amusement, (having no- 
thing better to do,) as Secretary to the Board of Con- 
gress, which had regulated Mr Izard's affair. Yet, with 
all this information, Mr Lux appeared to me to possess 
but a very moderate share of judgment or discernment, 
and to be little more than a dry matter-of-fact man. 
He had a handsome paternal estate, and at Chatsworth, 
his seat near Baltimore, was in the habit of entertaining 
all strangers of distinction, though so shamefully negli- 
gent of his person, which was naturally none of the best, 
as to seem not at all adapted to this function. Among 
his guests he was once honoured wjth the company of 
Mrs Macaulay, the historian, whom, at her request, as 
he informed me, he accompanied to Mount Vernon, on 
a visit to General Washington, where they staid some 



MRS MACAULAY POPULAR FEELING MILTON. 347 

days. While in conversation, one day after dinner, the 
lady, in a high republican strain, took occasion to expa- 
tiate on the vast advantages of rotation in office. This 
was in the manner of an appeal to her host, of whose ap- 
probation she seemed to be secure ; but as the General 
was rather a practical or accidental, than a republican 
by preference, I will not say a republican malgre lui, * 
he could only carry his politeness so far as not absolute- 
ly to dissent from the opinion ; and there was, of course, 
no commingled flow of soul upon the occasion. But 
Mrs Macaulay was not the only person of her nation, 
who has found the republicanism of the New World 
lagging shamefully behind that of the Old. Experience 
is the best of schools ; and, in the philanthropic science 
of levelling, as in others, we may truly say : 

Here, shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, 
And drinking largely sobers us again. 

One of the strongest cases in point, and which has been 
strangely overlooked, is that of the poet Milton, against 
whom the great Samuel Johnson is supposed to be even 
more than usually intolerant. He certainly could not 
have been aware, nor Mr Boswell either, (or from his 
profusion, we should have heard of it,) of the following 
passage in the Paradise Regained, the last work, and, 
therefore, to be presumed to contain the last and most 
solemn opinion of its author. 

And what the people, but a herd confus'd, 
A miscellaneous rabble, who extol 



* It may be safely averred, that a majority of our best Whigs 
of 1776 were not republicans by predilection ; but still the best 
of practical republicans, as honest and virtuous men. 



348 CONSTITUTIONALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 

Things vulgar, and well weigh'd, scarce worth the praise ! 
They praise and they admire they know not what ; 
And know not whom, but as one leads the other ; 
And what delight to be by such extoll'd, 
To live upon their tongues, and be their talk, 
Of whom to be despised were no small praise. 

It would be difficult to conceive sentiments more at vari- 
ance with the republican maxim of Vox populi vox Dei ; 
and yet they are the sentiments of the sublime poet John 
Milton, the democrat, the regicide, the secretary and pa- 
rasite of Oliver Cromwell. From this one man we may 
learn the character of his sect, the immaculate, people- 
adoring republicans of the present hour. For the love 
of liberty, they will kill a king, yet fawn upon a usurper, 
clothed with a power infinitely less accountable, infinitely 
more oppressive and tremendous. The crime, then, is 
not in " one proud man's lording it over the rest," * 
but that he should lord it in opposition to our particular 
interests and prejudices : In the direction of these, he 
cannot be too high-handed. 

Party-spirit, in Pennsylvania, had by this time taken 
a consistency, and the politicians were divided into Con- 
stitutionalists and Republicans. The first rallied round 
the constitution already formed, which was reprobated by 
the others for its total deficiency in checks and counter- 
balancing powers, thence tending, as it was alleged, to 
rash, precipitate, and oppressive proceedings. The term 
republicans was embraced, as recognizing the principles 
of the Revolution, and as indicative, perhaps, of tenets 



Terras tot posse sub uno 
Esse viro. 

Lucan. 



CONSTITUTIONALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 



349 



which admitted the utility of modifications and restraints 
in a system resting on the broad base of general suffrage 
and popular sovereignty. The word democrat was not 
yet much in use, neither was the distinction established 
between a democrat and a republican, which appears to 
consist in the idea, that the former is for placing the 
whole governing power in the " multitude told by the 
head the latter for giving it some checks, and infusing 
into it a leaven of what is termed by Mr Burke the natu- 
ral aristocracy of a country. But to do this, where the 
source of power has been diligently explored and dis- 
covered too, like that of the Nile, and universal suffrage, 
with the right to pull down and build up again, thence 
recognized as a fundamental, may well puzzle the learn- 
ed advocates for strong executives, and independent judi- 
ciaries, and in the end, perhaps, turn all their fine-spun 
theories into lumber, little better than nonsense. How- 
ever, like the rest of my countrymen, 

With sad civility I read, 
With honest anguish and an aching head. 

To counteract the constitutionalists, the disaffected to 
the Revolution were invited to fall into the republican 
ranks ; and there was an agreement, or at least an under- 
standing, among the lawyers, who were generally on the 
republican side, neither to practise or accept of any office 
under the constitution, which, in that case, they would 
be bound, by an oath, to support. But the constitution- 
alists had a Roland for their Oliver. They had pro- 
thonotaryships, attorney-generalships, chief-justiceships, 
and what not, to dispose of. Patriots have their price, 
'tis said ; and persons were found to accept of these, 
some of whom, indeed, had cautiously avoided committing 



350 CONSTITUTIONALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 



themselves by the promulgation of rash anathemas. All, 
however, were not so fortunate, if fame is to be believed ; 
and although the fruit was to them forbidden, they were 
tempted, and did eat. But, in this age of thrift and 
self-aggrandisement, I am not going to impute it to them 
as a crime. Who would now reject the means of better- 
ing his condition, through the childish fear of being 
charged with a dereliction of principle ? It is not of 
such imbecility that the world is now " the friend, or the 
world's law." Buonaparte would never have made him- 
self a consul, much less an emperor, by such squeam- 
ishness. 

Soon after the organization of the Republican Society, 
it was proposed to me by my friend Major Scull, then in 
Philadelphia, to join it ; but, after the recent agitations 
of the greater contest with the mother country, I felt no 
inclination to disturb myself with domestic broils. My 
eyes, indeed, were open to the illiberality of the consti- 
tutionalists, and the extreme jealousy they already ma- 
nifested against those who had been in the army ; but, 
on the other hand, so far as I can recal my feelings, I 
did not fully relish the policy of courting the disaffected 
and those who had played a safe and calculating game. 
But they were rewarded for it : pelf, it appeared, was a 
better goal than liberty ; and at no period in my recol- 
lection was the worship of Mammon more widely spread, 
more sordid and disgusting. Those who had fought the 
battles of the country, at least in the humbler grades, 
had, as yet, earned nothing but poverty and contempt ; 
while their wiser fellow-citizens, who had attended to 
their interests, were the men of mark and consideration. 
As to military rank, no man seemed to be without it 
who had an inclination for it \ and the title of Major was 



CONSTITUTIONALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 351 

the very lowest that a dasher of any figure would accept 
of. Nothing more was wanting for its attainment than 
to clap on a uniform and pair of epaulets, and scamper 
about with some militia general for a day or two ; and 
thus the real soldier was superseded, even in the career 
of glory. Never having been good at a scramble, as al- 
ready observed, whether honour or profit were the meed, 
I did not press into the field of pretension ; and being 
in a state of apathy as to the political parties, I declined 
enlisting with either. 

The agitations which now prevailed in the capital led 
to the well known outrage on Mr Wilson, who, for the 
exercise of his professional duty as a lawyer, in behalf of 
certain persons who had been prosecuted for treason, 
had been proscribed by the mobility. The punishment 
decreed for his crime was banishment to the enemy, yet 
in New York ; and for the purpose of inflicting it, an 
attack, by men in arms, was made upon his house, into 
which a number of his friends had thrown themselves, 
with a determination to resist the assailants. A few lives 
were lost before the tumult was suppressed ; but as my 
residence at Reading deprived me of the means of a per- 
sonal knowledge of the transaction, it is enough for me 
to notice it, as one of those which shows the toleration of 
the vulgar heart, and the ideas it annexes to what it is 
pleased to term the blessings of liberty. 

The constitution kept its ground in defiance of its ad- 
versaries ; and as it is sometimes easier to make a pun than 
to avoid it, it may be said, that The confederates of the 
Bar were completely foiled in their undertaking. They 
came over by degrees ; and it, at length, appeared, that 
the cobweb ties by which they had vainly flattered them- 
selves they could pinion the love of interest, had only 



35£ AUTHOR OBTAINS AN APPOINTMENT. 

benefited the least scrupulous of the confederates, who, 
like the stronger flies, had burst their flimsy fetters, 
and thence dashed at the treacle, unannoyed by compe- 
tition. 

All interdiction to practice being now removed, I 
found it necessary once more to open my law books. I 
obtained admittance as an attorney in the county of Berks, 
and was already employed to bring actions and defend 
them ; but was soon drawn from this tract by the follow- 
ing incident. 

Among a number of newly introduced maxims of re- 
publicanism, it was an highly favoured one in Pennsyl- 
vania, to bring justice home to every man's door. In the 
spirit of this principle, several new counties had been 
erected ; and, in the year 1785, 1 had the good fortune, 
through the warm exertions of an influential friend, to 
obtain an appointment to the prothonotaryship of the 
county of Dauphin. By a combination of small circum- 
stances working together for my advantage, I obtained, 
contrary to expectation, the suffrage of the supreme exe- 
cutive council, of which Mr Dickinson was then presi- 
dent. The republican party possessed a majority in the 
council ; and Colonel Atlee, who belonged to it, was de- 
signated for the office. He was conspicuous as a party- 
man, and, if I mistake not, at the time, a member of the 
legislature ; and, on the score of services and character, 
no one had better claims. But, upon this occasion, the 
negative character of my politics, contrary to the usual 
course of things, probably gave me the advantage. To 
keep out Atlee, the constitutionalists were disposed to 
give their votes to any one of his competitors. Of course, 
I had all their strength ; and by adding to it two or three 
republican votes, I acquired a greater number than any 

12 



AUTHOR APPOINTED PROTHONOTAHi". 



853 



in nomination. As the mode was to vote for the candi- 
dates individually, there was no physical, or, perhaps, 
moral impediment, to each of them receiving the vote of 
every member. A promise to one was not broken by 
voting also for another, unless it was exclusively made. 
The President had, probably, given a promise to Colonel 
Atlee, as well as to myself ; and considering me, perhaps, 
as too weak to endanger his success, thought he might 
safely gratify my friend, who pinned him to the vote, 
which, on coming to the box, he seemed half inclined to 
withhold. Or, where was his crime, if he really thought 
our pretensions equal, and therefore determined not to 
decide between us ? Such were the accidents which pro- 
cured my unlooked for appointment. 

Mr Dickinson, for his want of decision, as it was call- 
ed, was bitterly inveighed against by his party ; and the 
next day at the coffeehouse, when receiving the congra- 
tulations of some of my acquaintance, Mr Michael Mor- 
gan O'Brien, who chanced to be present, and to whom T. 
was then introduced, asserted it as a fact, that the Presi- 
dent had suffered his hand to be seized and crammed into 
the box with a ticket for me ; " but no matter," said he, 
" you are a clever fellow I am told, and I am glad that 
you have got the office." That this gentleman, who 
had been a short time among us, should have been so fu- 
rious a partisan in our politics, can only be accounted for 
from his being perfectly in the O'Flaherty style, and 
consequently a ready champion of the cause of those he 
was in the habit of associating with. In the station of 
President, Mr Dickinson added not much to his reputa- 
tion, in the opinion of either of the parties. By endea- 
vouring to stand well with both, he unfortunately pleas- 
ed neither. He had been brought in by the republicans ; 

z 



354 



CHARACTER OF PRESIDENT DICKINSON. 



and had soon after been virulently attacked by a writer 
under the signature of Valerius, who was no bad imita- 
tor of the manner of Junius. Against the charges that 
were urged against him, he made his own vindication, 
which, even by his political friends, was thought nerveless 
and whining. Upon the expiration of his term of ser- 
vice as President of Pennsylvania, he retired to Wil- 
mington, in the State of Delaware, where he became a 
plain Quaker, in the principles of which sect, I think, he 
had been educated. But his Quakerism did not prevent 
his becoming President of this State, as he had before 
been of Pennsylvania. Neither did it, in his old age, so 
far withdraw him from worldly concerns, as to restrain 
his pen from again dipping in politics, during the pro- 
gress of the French Revolution, with the sublime virtues 
and benign influences of which he appears to have been 
deeply and permanently smitten ; insomuch, as to be 
rendered so acceptable to the Jeffersonians, as just before 
his death, which happened in the year 1808, to be held 
up by them as a candidate for a seat in the House of 
Representatives of the United States. While residing 
in the State of Delaware, he seems always to have been 
claimed by this class of politicians ; and from his Fabius, 
which is a curious jumble of irreconcilable, abstract con- 
tradiction, and philanthropic inconsistency, he probably 
belonged to them. Like the rest of the sect, he is for 
devolving the whole virus of the Revolution on the shoul- 
ders of Robespierre, and his immediate colleagues ; and 
but for a few unlucky ifs, he is persuaded all things 
would have gone well. The unfortunate Louis he 
loves with no less enthusiasm than he does the fanatic 
multitude, whose demoniac frenzy sent him to the scaf- 
fold ; and he apostrophizes the manes of the dead mo- 



POLITICAL CONSISTENCY MR FOX. 355 

narch with as much solemnity and pathos, as if his blood 
had been a banquet to the federalists, who, it is true, are 
wholly lost to the morality, which would, with Fabius, 
transfer the gratitude which might have been due to the 
king, to those, who, though not actually his murderers, 
do yet exultingly trample upon his ashes. 

Mr Dickinson was very far from a consistent politi- 
cian. Though so little of a republican at the commence- 
ment of our revolution as to boggle at independence, he 
became so outrageous a one in the sequel, as to be an 
amateur of French liberty, and in respect of the parties 
in England, a Foxite* professed. To account for this, 
for certainly there is a glow of sentiment in his writings, 
which would promise better things, we must have re- 
course to some casualties in his public career. In the 
first place, then, from his supposed want of energy while 
in the first congress, Mr John Adams had, in a letter 
intercepted and published by the British, styled him 
" a piddling genius, 5 ' and Mr Adams being afterwards 
President of the United States, and then thoroughly 
anti-gallican, might possibly have contributed to place 
Mr Dickinson in the opposite ranks. Probably, too, the 



* Many, I am well aware, are partial to Mr Fox as a statesman 
His abilities might have been very great, but he can hardly be call- 
ed a candid, principled, and virtuous citizen. If, when he became 
minister, he pursued the same policy that Mr Pitt had done, it is 
evident that his opposition to him proceeded from factious and in- 
terested motives, under the influence of which, he acted the part of 
a wild and disorganizing Jacobin. He is said to have been a pleas- 
ing companion, and what is called a good natured man, which is 
generally, by the by, an unprincipled one. Refined virtue is indig- 
nant and somewhat austere. Estimating him, however, from his 
historical fragment of the reign of James II., one would suppose 
him to have been a humane, just, and generous man. 



356 



POLITICAL CONSISTENCY. 



once celebrated Pennsylvania farmer, and writer of con- 
gressional addresses, was not altogether pleased at find- 
ing himself in the back ground, and eclipsed by states- 
men of less standing than himself, the Hamiltons, the 
Ames's, &c, It is enough for those beneath the sphere 
of competition to exclaim : 

Let modest Forster, if he will, excel 
Ten metropolitans in preaching well. 

In addition to this, liberty was the stock on which the 
farmer's celebrity was engrafted ; and lest the fine foli- 
age might " grow into the yellow leaf," he was, perhaps, 
resolved to cherish, at all events, the vigour of the parent 
tree ; and hence, liberty, even to jacobinism, was among 
the toys of his dotage. This is the best I can say, for a, 
teacher of political ethics, who (with whatever good in- 
tentions) for wisdom gives us folly ; for virtue, " deeds 
to make heaven weep, all earth amazed," under the idea 
of modelling the world according to a pretty theory. 

The post I was honoured with fully satisfied my am- 
bition ; it was sufficiently respectable, and in a few years 
wholly adequate to my wants. The duties it imposed 
I was pretty well acquainted with ; and I exerted my- 
self to lay such a foundation in the office arrangements, 
as might support a regular superstructure. The trust 
committed to me was conscientiously attended to, and 
I venture to say, not negligently executed. My cares 
for a future competency, which were those alone which 
had disturbed me, were done away by my establishment ; 
a new town was rising under my eyes on the magnificent 
banks of the Susquehanna ; and though remote from the 
capital and obscure, I had little left to wish for ; — a state 
too tranquil to be lasting. 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 



357 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Constitution of the United States — House of Representatives 
— Senate — Executive Power — Public Characters and state 
of Parties — Washington — Jefferson — French Revolution. 

Being now about to enter upon political discussions, 
I deem it due to those enthusiastically republican read- 
ers, who think we can never sufficiently praise ourselves, 
to tell them to stop here ; if, from some unlucky notices 
I may have given, they have not already anticipated me. 
I am truly sorry that my convictions will not permit me 
to trace events in the usual strain of panegyric ; but I 
am compelled, in the style of a grumbler, to say, that 
the patriotism, which had been calculated upon to bear 
us out with little or no aid from authority, and which, 
in the opinion of many, was still in full vigour, was, to the 
eyes of all sober men, wholly inadequate to the demands 
which were made upon it. It had the knack, indeed, of 
evading the most important of them, by representing 
them as spurious \ and this was chiefly done, by restrict- 
ing patriotic duties to the limits of a state. The coun- 
try of a demagogue is the precise sphere of his influ- 
ence ; and making common cause on this principle, they 
were every where deaf as adders to the claims of a gene- 
ral interest. The articles of confederation, receiving 
cement from the sense of common danger, which prevail- 
ed during the war, had occasionally afforded faint marks 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 



of continental impression ; but as soon as the fear of sub- 
jugation was removed, they were no better than a rope 
of sand ; and the general sovereignty was a very unequal 
match for the thirteen individual ones. The voice of the 
United States was, as it had been observed, but the 
drone of the bagpipes, Its buz was heard, but it con- 
tributed not at all to the modulation of the music. It 
could recommend, but not enforce a measure ; and 
hence, the imposition of certain internal taxes, and a 
duty of five per centum on imported articles, essential to 
the discharge of the public debt and the fulfilment ©f a 
stipulation in the treaty of peace, could never be accom- 
plished. The refractory states were not to be moved by 
considerations of national justice or character ; and they 
were equally regardless of the consequences of a dissolu- 
tion of the union. 

To rescue the country from the impending anarchy 
and ruin, the influence of General Washington was call* 
ed for, and again exerted for its salvation. Nothing 
less than the weight of his name could have induced the 
adoption of the new federal constitution, which had been 
framed under his auspices ; and it had become very 
doubtful, whether the anxious struggle for independence 
had not been in vain, and the anticipated blessing of self- 
government would not be frustrated in its very dawn. 
The interests opposed to an efficient union of the states 
were truly formidable, as well from the conviction of the 
popular leaders that it would lessen, if not annihilate 
their importance, as from the too contracted notions of 
the people at large, and their inability to comprehend the 
necessity of a general controlling authority. The battle 
was hard fought on both sides. To the manly sense and 
patriotic eloquence of the one, was opposed the trite, but 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 



359 



seductive cant of sedition and faction. The refined and 
irresistible reasoning of Publius, the signature to a series 
of essays, chiefly written by Colonel Hamilton, was as- 
sailed by incessant vollies of words of dire import, such 
as monarchy, aristocracy, monopoly, and consolidation. 
But the last being the lucky hit, from which most im- 
mediate effect was anticipated, it was most unmercifully 
hackneyed in the service. The constitution was repre- 
sented to be a consolidation, not a confederation of the 
states ; and under this shrewd idea, its adversaries very 
ingeniously endeavoured to ward off the imputation of 
anti-federalism, now becoming odious. They contended 
that they were, in fact, the federalists, as the self-styled 
federalists were consolidators, aristocrats, and monarch- 
ists. Luckily, at this time, there were no French im- 
perialists, or promoters of universal despotism ; or, with- 
out doubt, they would have been these too. But the 
tribunitial arts of the soi discmtes federal men were all 
in vain. Some dire infatuation, according to them, had 
seized upon the people, and to perdition they must go, 
since their best friends were no longer listened to. The 
grand processions of trades and occupations, which were 
exhibited at Boston, New York, and Philadelphia ; the 
hint of which was, probably, taken from the shows of 
Tamerlane, at Samarcand, had completely federalized 
the populace of these capitals, and given an eclat to the 
business elsewhere, that could not be resisted. Under 
the " curses/' therefore, " not loud but deep," of its 
enemies, the measure was sullenly acquiesced in, and the 
constitution gradually ratified by the states. By this 
event the constitutional party of Pennsylvania was laid 
at the feet of the Republicans, who, now triumphing un- 



360 GENERAL WASHINGTON ELECTED PRESIDENT. 



der the appellation of federalists, overwhelmed their ad- 
versaries with the short-lived odium of anti-federalism. 

But the reputation of Washington, which had carried 
the new system, was no less necessary to give efficacy to 
its operations, than it had been to originate it, and obtain 
its ratification ; and as he could not but be aware of this, 
he consented, from a sense of duty, but without a parti- 
cle of that " sweet, reluctant, amorous delay/ 5 with 
which more etherial patriots sometimes yield to the 
wishes of the people, to be a candidate for the presi- 
dency. As the disapprovers of the constitution knew 
that their opposition to his election would be unavailing, 
they gave none, but contented themselves with taunts 
and dismal forebodings. General Washington was then 
elected -> and I mention it as a proof of my decided con- 
duct in the controversy, that my country did me the 
honour to appoint me one of his electors. Had not my 
persuasion of the pressing importance of the measure 
forbade my being passive, it would have been scarcely 
possible to have remained so. From an idea that those 
holding offices under the state, would feel it their in- 
terest to oppose a system which circumscribed the au- 
thority from which they derived them, and might, thence, 
disturb the enjoyment of them, or even render them nu- 
gatory, they were confidently appealed to by the anti- 
federalists, as the natural enemies of the constitution y 
while, on the other hand, persons who had been in the 
army were counted upon by the federalists as likely to 
promote a scheme, in which the late commander-in-chief 
had taken so warm a part. But I did not wait to be so- 
licited by the parties, neither did I poise their relative 
strength, or listen, for a moment, to the narrow dictates 

of self interest. I am happy in being able to say, that I 

10 



MEETING OF CONVENTION. 



361 



was an early, undisguised, ardent, active, and, in my 
sphere, conspicuous partisan of the constitution ; of 
course, a mark for the vengeance of the professional 
wielders of the people, who felt the potency of their in- 
cantations most cruelly impaired by its adoption. Their 
discomfiture being complete, they made a virtue of ne- 
cessity, and not long after, yielded with a tolerably good 
grace, to the call of a convention for altering the con- 
stitution of the state, so as to render it more conform- 
able to that of the United States. They considered this, 
and wisely, as a mean^of recovering their lost conse- 
quence ; and exerting themselves at the elections for 
members of this convention, they contrived to take the 
field, with a force not very inferior to that of their ad- 
versaries. 

This body has been considered respectable for abili- 
ties : and among the men of note who were delegated to 
it may be found the names of Mifflin, M'Kean, Wil- 
son, Lewis, Ross, Addison, Sitgreaves, Pickering, Gal- 
latin, Smilie, Findley, and Snyder. I had myself the 
equivocal honour of being a yea and nay member ; but 
having been elected in the room of one who died, I did 
not take my seat until some progress had been made in 
the business. The point which had excited most inte- 
rest, and was thence the subject of the warmest contro- 
versy, was now upon the carpet. This was the construc- 
tion of the Senate, or Upper House (as it is sometimes 
called) of the legislature. A committee selected for the 
purpose had reported an outline of the constitution ; and 
that part of the report which recommended the choosing 
of Senators, through the medium of electors, was under 
discussion. Mr Wilson took the lead in opposition to 
the report ; Mr Lewis in support of it. It was urged 



362 



CONSTITUTION OF THE SENATE, 



by the latter and his co-operators, that the Senate should 
be so constituted as to form a check upon the House of 
Representatives ; and, as in the proposed mode of creat- 
ing it, through the alembic of electors, it would be 
purged of the impurities of an immediate election by the 
people, the desideratum would be obtained : — that being 
chosen by a selected few, it was presumable it would be 
more wise, more respectable, and more composed of men 
of wealth, than if chosen by the multitude ; and hence, 
it was inferred, that it would partake, in no inconsider- 
able degree, of the proper qualities of an Upper House 
— of an House of Lords, it might have been said, if the 
idea had been endurable. As to Mr Wilson's scheme 
(for he had moved a substitute) of choosing the Senators 
in the same manner as the Representatives, with the ex- 
ception only of larger election districts, it was reprobat- 
ed as doing away every purpose of a divided legislature 
— since that the persons, composing the two Houses, 
would be precisely of the same character, and too homo- 
geneous to operate as correctives of each other ; and that 
unless the elector-system should be adopted, the conven- 
tion had been called in vain. 

Wilson, in defence of his plan, was for resting the 
chance of the two bodies being sufficient checks upon each 
other, upon the circumstances of their different spheres 
of election ; of their sitting in different chambers, which 
would produce, he contended, an esprit du corps in 
each ; and their being chosen for different periods, the 
Representatives for one year, the Senators for four years. 
He moreover urged, that electors would open a door to 
unfair practice and intrigue ; that the Senators should be 
as much favourites of the people as the Representatives, 



V 



author's opinion on the subject. 



363 



and be inspired with equal confidence, by equally feeling 
themselves their choice. 

As the debate seemed to turn upon the idea that this 
was a contest between the principles of democracy and 
aristocracy, and that great advantages would be gained 
to either that might prevail, a considerable degree of 
heat was engendered ; and Wilson, hitherto deemed an 
aristocrat, a monarchist, and a despot, as all the federal- 
ists were, found his adherents, on this occasion, with a few 
exceptions, on the democratic or anti-federal side of the 
House. In the list of exceptions I was ; but not so 
much from the arguments adduced, though appearing to 
me both ingenious and sound, as from my conviction of 
its being wholly immaterial, so far as a check was con- 
templated, whether the Senate was brought together 
through the intervention of electors or not ; and I was, 
of course, adverse to a measure at once circuitous, use- 
less, and unpopular. As it was my practice to commit 
my thoughts to paper upon questions which underwent 
discussion, I have the following note of this : — 

" The desire of choosing Senators, through the me- 
dium of electors, is certainly founded on a fallacious 
idea : for admitting that a small number of dispassionate, 
sensible men, would make a better choice than the peo- 
ple at large, is it possible that the advocates for the 
measure can be so blinded by prejudice, as not to see, 
that it is not the most dispassionate and intelligent men 
that will be sought for as electors, but the most de- 
voted tools of party ; and that the prevailing party in 
the district will always make the Senator ? To suppose 
the contrary, or that any one, when parties run high, 
(and when do they not ?) would be voted for as an elec- 
tor, merely from a reliance on his wisdom and integrity,, 



364 



CONSTITUTION OF THE SENATE. 



without a knowledge of his sentiments, is to suppose a 
political miracle, and to forget that ever party-spirit 
existed. Let it not be said, that the object is to get a 
good man of whatever party. This is contrary to all 
party-policy and practice, which, if it cannot succeed in 
procuring the election of its own members, prefers the 
weakest and most contemptible of the other side, as being 
less capable of doing mischief. The respectability of the 
Maryland Senate, which has been so often instanced in 
the debate, proves nothing to the purpose. If it is a re- 
spectable body and of superior wisdom to the other 
House, it is not because it is chosen by electors. It 
must be owing to the more enlightened persons who 
compose it, reserving themselves for it, and having suffi- 
cient interest with the people to secure their seats ; 
which interest would be the same without the interven- 
tion of electors ; and if the state of Maryland shall have 
a wiser and higher-toned Senate than Pennsylvania, it 
must be attributed to the more aristocratical state of so- 
ciety there, which furnishes them with more suitable 
materials, and gives the men of wealth and information 
a superior degree of influence." 

Thus far the note, the observations in which seem 
fully justified by events. Let us consider the objects 
which regulate the choice of electors of a president and 
vice-president, and then say whether the senate would 
have been bettered by the elector scheme. I myself was 
once chosen an elector, but it was because my voice was 
known to be for Washington, not personally on my own 
account. 

As another mean to improve the upper house, a pro- 
position was brought forward by the friends to the elec- 
tor plan, to apportion the senators by means of a ratio 



CONSTITUTION OF THE SENATE. 



365 



compounded of wealth and numbers ; the intention of 
which was to give greater security to property, by in- 
creasing the weight of the wealthy districts beyond what 
they would derive from population alone. After repro- 
bating the idea of introducing so invidious and sordid a 
principle into the government, and remarking that it 
could not answer its purpose unless this increased repre- 
sentation was under the sole guidance of the rich, who 
are rarely oppressed by the poor ; my note goes on to 
say : — " Whatever advantages may, for a time, be given 
to the poor by a state of turbulence and confusion, as 
soon as order is restored the predominance of wealth im- 
mediately returns. It seems unnecessary to protect 
local wealth. It is not probable that the local distinc- 
tions now prevailing will continue, but rather that 
wealthy individuals will make common cause." A 
scheme of the same kind, as this compound ratio, was 
adopted by the National Assembly of France ; speaking 
of which, I find Mr Burke has this remark, with which 
part of mine exactly coincides. " If any favour," says 
he, " was meant to the rich, the privilege ought to have 
been conferred on the individual rich, or on some class 
formed of rich persons ; because the contest between 
rich and poor is not a struggle between corporation and 
corporation, but a contest between men and men \ a 
competition, not between districts, but between descrip- 
tions." 

I aim at no triumph by these remarks, and am not so 
uncandid as not to own that, before being led to ex- 
amine it, I was as much seduced by the plausibility of 
the elector scheme as any one. I was at first induced to 
oppose it in the case of the senate, in the view of apply- 
ing it in the choice of a chief magistrate, under an idea 



366 



EXECUTIVE POWER, 



that it might at least have the wholesome effect of miti- 
gating the fury of a general election in a matter of so 
great interest, by putting the object a little out of sight ; 
but I now doubt whether it would be productive even of 
this good. 

The animated discussions which had taken place in the 
convention, on the formation of the senate, had produ- 
ced no inconsiderable degree of ill humour among the 
members of that body, and more especially, as is usual, 
among the losers. For my own part, I was considered 
by them as an apostate from my principles ; as a deserter 
of the federal standard ; and at tables, where I occasion- 
ally fell in with my federal acquaintance, was treated by 
them with much unpleasant coldness and neglect. As, 
however, I had acted honestly from the best lights my 
understanding afforded, I was not to be brow-beaten into 
a retraction of the sentiments I had uttered ; and was as 
confident in my opinions as they could be in theirs ; in 
which, I presume, I have been justified by events. 

As to the executive power, the structure, as it now 
stands, appeared to have been reared before 1 became a 
member of the convention. It would seem that it had 
been agreed upon, and reported by a committee of nine 
members, who had been selected for the purpose of fram- 
ing and methodizing the outlines of the constitution. 
At any rate, no essential opposition was made to this ar- 
ticle, which, in my opinion, is the most exceptionable of 
any in the instrument. The following note contains the 
chief ground of my objection to it, viz. " When I con- 
sider the strong temptation to the courting of popular 
favour, held out by the governor's re-eligibility at the 
end of three years, I am induced to condemn the sec- 
tion, and to prefer electing him for a certain period, say 

i 



EXECUTIVE POWER. 



367 



four, five, six, seven, or so many years as might be deem- 
ed safe and expedient ; at the end of which term, either 
a perpetual or very long exclusion to take place : an 
exclusion long enough to wear out the influence requir- 
ed whilst in office, and to make a re-election a too remote 
and uncertain contingency to be worth improper sacrifi- 
ces and compliances. * The rotation, founded on a short 
exclusion, appears to be inadequate to its object, and to 
have little other effect than to compel us to part with 
a chief magistrate, however patriotic his conduct, or 
pressing the exigence. To it, I would prefer an unin- 
terrupted re-eligibility." This idea I communicated to 
several of the leading members of the convention, but do 
not recollect that any of them seemed much impressed 
with its importance. Mr Lewis, indeed, did not seem 
to think unfavourably of it ; but had been so much hurt 
with losing the electors, that he seemed to despair of re- 
deeming the loss by the substitution of any other good, 
and therefore declined attempting any alteration in the 
article : And having too little confidence in myself to 
undertake a change in it, without able support, I suffer- 
ed it to pass without publicly testifying my disapproba- 
tion of it. What made the general acquiescence in it 
more remarkable was, that it was thought necessary to 
remedy the evil arising from the annual election of 
sheriffs, who, it was observed, were too intent on preserv- 
ing the good will of their constituents to do their duty 
to effect, until their ultimate term of service was secured. 
Perhaps it was deemed a kind of profanation of the high 



* I was not aware, until very lately, that General Lee uses pre- 
cisely the same reasoning, in a letter dated July 29th, 1776, to Pa- 
trick Henry, jun. Governor of Virginia. 



368 



REGULATION OF THE PRESS. 



function of chief magistrate, to suppose that any con- 
siderations of this sort could warp the manly march of 
him who might have the honour to be invested with it. 
But, whatever force there may be in the foregoing senti- 
ments, candour compels me to own that, at this moment, 
I am much less tenacious of them than I have been. 
Were the governor's the only station to be sought for, 
the reasoning might be conclusive ; but there are so 
many other temptations to a man smitten with a love of 
the public coffers, of influence and power, that it amounts 
to much less than I once supposed. Indeed, the best, 
and perhaps only security, for a firm and upright ad- 
ministration is to be found in innate dignity of mind : 
And the more we contemplate the construction of a po- 
pular form of government, the more shall we be convin- 
ced that no checks are competent to master corruption, or 
supply the want of integrity ; and that, after all the jar- 
gon about anti- republican tendencies, no tendency can 
be republican unless it be virtuous. 

Next to the construction of the senate, the regulation 
of the press was the ground of most acrimony in the con- 
vention. Whether or not the truth should be received 
as a justification on prosecutions for libels divided its 
law characters. I was among the simple voters who 
thought that it ought ; and although now absolved from 
my sin, by federal opinion, I was then subjected to the 
imputation of wild innovation and democracy. I could 
say a great deal more of what was done in this assembly, 
and produce a world of political reasoning, vastly edify- 
ing and profound ; but enough, in all conscience, of the 
business of constitution making ! Could we have made 
the people wise, moderate, disinterested, we should have 
laboured to some purpose ; but, where they are under no 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



369 



dominion but that of their selfish passions, hurrying 
them on to a goal, regardless of consequences, of what 
use are all the constitutions that have been made by the 
friends to liberty in America or France ? They want an 
essential ingredient of all laws. They may be just in 
their sanctions, wise and honest in their injunctions, but 
where are their enforcing and prohibitory powers ? As 
they are, I am sick of them, With all their seeming 
beauties they contain a latent flaw ; and I am almost 
tempted to reject the flattering theory of our institu- 
tions, as Bajazet does the Paradise of Mahomet. 

Prophet, take notice, I disclaim thy paradise, 

Thy fragrant bowers and everlasting shades, 

Thou hast placed woman there, and all thy joys are tainted. 

If woman spoils the one, so does selfish man the other. 

The sitting of this assembly for new modelling the con- 
stitution had the effect that had been anticipated by the 
anti-federalists. It enabled them to discharge a great 
portion of the odium, with which they had been loaded 
by their recent discomfiture ; and although they had 
been completely laid upon their backs, it was evident, 
that, from this position, they had already turned upon 
their sides, and were in a fair way of being very soon on 
top of their antagonists. Such are the advantages of a 
steady, undeviating, profligate pursuit of power, over a 
regard for the public good, desultorily exerted without 
concert or system ! A panic terror of the power of the 
union under the new constitution prevailed in the con- 
vention ; and some, who were not infected with it, acted 
as if they were, for the purpose of mortifying Wilson, 
who had spoiled their favourite scheme. The bugbear 
of consolidation stalked hideously among us, to the dis- 

a a 



370 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



may of many federalists, no less than of the anti-federal- 
ists ; and at no small expence of the cogitative powers, 
many ingenious devices were framed to resist his en- 
croachments. A balance was anxiously sought where 
none could be obtained \ for where two parties only fight, 
one must prove the strongest. By means of a third, in- 
deed, the weaker adversary may be put upon a par with 
the stronger, as the House of Lords, in the British con- 
stitution, is supposed to hold the balance between the 
King and the Commons ; or as either one of the three 
may do it between the other two. But with respect to any 
imagined hostility between the general government, and 
those of the particular states ; if it exists, it must take 
its course, there seems to be no control. The former 
will be potent when administered by men who have no 
scruples in regard to means ; but w T eak as the old con- 
federation when in the hands of the principled and con- 
scientious. The power of the country, under her exist- 
ing establishments, will be wielded by the turbulent and 
most daring; and if these, by any chance, should be 
thrown from the greater wheel, they will immediately 
avail themselves of inherent jealousies to get possession 
of the smaller ones, by an unprincipled use of which 
they will still find means to keep the ascendant. When 
the federalists held the helm of the general govern- 
ment, there was an incessant jarring between that and 
the state authorities, then managed by their adversaries ; 
and were the former as little restrained by a concern for 
the public good as the latter, they would have played the 
same game against Mr Jefferson and his sect ; instead 
of which, since their accession to national rule, they 
have been suffered to proceed without the smallest annoy- 
ance, in a part in which they were obviously most vul- 

12 



LEADING CHARACTERS IN THE CONVENTION. 371 

nerable ; and in which, if their own malignant, Catili- 
narian spirit had prevailed among the federalists, they 
would most assuredly have been assailed. Nor let it be 
said, that they had not this in their power, after the ac- 
tual war measures of Governor Snyder against President 
Madison. If ever sincere men shall again acquire the 
stations they ought to possess, then again shall we be stun- 
ned by the brawlings of anti-federal discord. The edi- 
fying unity of democracy will no longer be marred by a 
division into schools, nor will the Binns and Duanes 
turn their arms upon each other. 

The convention, it has been observed, was deemed re- 
spectable for ability ; and, upon a comparison with the 
materials of our state legislatures, it no doubt was. It 
had a good many speakers in it ; but, that an aptitude to 
prate is no conclusive evidence of sound judgment, is an 
observation as old at least as Sallust. The most able de- 
baters in the body were Wilson and Lewis. Ross, 
Addison, Sitgreaves, and Gallatin, were comparatively 
young statesmen, though each of the three first acquitted 
himself handsomely ; the last did not venture beyond an 
isolated observation. It was singular, by the bye, and 
honourable to the liberality of our country, to hear a 
French accent intermingling with our own on a question 
for framing a constitution for Pennsylvania. It was real- 
izing the nihil humani alienum puto of Terence. May 
we never have reason to repent our extreme complacency 
to human race oratory, whether declaiming on man's 
equality, or the freedom of the seas ! Wilson was truly 
great, but enthusiastically democratic. The symptoms 
of returning reason, evinced in the adoption of the fede- 
ral constitution, had probably put him in good humour 
with the people, and made him more than ever in love 



37£ LEADING CHARACTERS IN THE CONVENTION. 

with " free and independent man." He drew, to be 
sure, a picture of a free citizen in the act of disposing of 
his suffrage, little answerable to the sad realities which 
are found upon an election ground. Royalty, with its 
most splendid regalia, was made to hide its. diminished 
head. Nevertheless, it was a pretty fiction ; and I will 
not deny, that I did not listen to it with perhaps some- 
what more than a demi-conviction. Ces pauvres Savoy- 
ards sont si bonnes gens ! as Jean Jacques says. And 
who could say less of the good souls of Pennsylvania ? 

There was something singular in Wilson's mode of ar- 
riving at his goal. It was different at least from that 
which I should have taken ; and he appeared studious to 
avoid the beaten road. Still, he never failed to throw 
the strongest lights on his subject, and thence, rather to 
flash than elicit conviction, syllogistically. It has been 
said that he required preparation. At any rate, he pro- 
duced greater orations than any other man I have heard 5 
and I doubt much whether the ablest of those who 
sneer at his occasional simplicities and " brilliant con- 
ceits," would not have found him a truly formidable an- 
tagonist. 

Mr Lewis furnishes an instance of what may be done 
by fortitude and perseverance in a pursuit to which the 
mind has a bias. With nothing more than the common 
attainments of a country school, he took the resolution 
to make himself a lawyer ; and, quitting agricultural em- 
ployments, he applied himself for a year or two to the ac- 
quisition of Latin ; after which he commenced his juris- 
prudential studies in the office of Mr Nicholas Wain, then 
in the first practice in Philadelphia. His mind appeared 
to be wholly occupied by his business, and he gave every 
difficulty which occurred a thorough investigation. In a 



LEADING CHARACTERS IN THE CONVENTION, 373 

word, his success was complete \ and, from the first de- 
gree of eminence at the bar, he had been called upon to 
serve his country in the legislature, and now in the con- 
vention. He was not, however, with the sage of Monti- 
cello, for confining all virtue to the labouring orders, 
though, from his early habits in life, probably well ac- 
quainted with them. Well knowing, that the morality 
of a gentleman was at least upon a par with that of a til- 
ler of the earth ; that Don Quixote (supposed a natural 
character) had more honour, though less cunning, than 
his squire, (a natural character too ;) and that city vices 
are amply matched by rustic rogueries \ he seemed with- 
out a chosen people, and, upon this occasion, was the ad- 
vocate of what was called the aristocracy. But, though 
keen and fertile in resources, he was, both from educa- 
tion and the bent of his studies, destitute of the compre- 
hensive means possessed by Wilson, who was a Scotch- 
man and a scholar, and had peculiarly devoted himself to 
the researches which afford materials for the construction 
of republican institutions, and which, in his hands, would 
have been absolutely perfect, but for one unlucky thing 
which seems to have eluded his calculations, — this was, 
that political data do not admit of mathematical results. 
Mr Pickering was not an idle member. His aims were 
honourable and patriotic as those he has since pursued y 
and his suggestions were the emanations of right reason 
and experience. General Mifflin sometimes spoke to 
questions of order, but nothing more ; and as to Chief- 
Justice M'Kean, I shall only say, that his conduct gave 
no token of the zeal he not long afterwards displayed in 
the democratic career. But, as it is the people who make 
governors, Eh ! que /aire Mons. Peltier ? — what the 

8 



374 LEADING CHARACTERS IN THE CONVENTION. 



deuce is an eager candidate to do ? For, least of all men 
can he say, with Fontaine, in his tale of Joconde : 

Ce riest pas mon metier de cajoler personne. 

As to those great accidental luminaries, Messrs Smilie 
and Findley, their conduct upon this occasion was truly 
in character, ever tremblingly alive to the soveranity of 
the people. Nor have their labours in the good cause 
been less exemplary than their zeal, since, if we except a 
slight eclipse of a few digits through the obtrusion of 
Washington with his federal constitution and federal ex- 
cises, they have been constantly glaring, full-orbed, in 
the political firmament ; and we are certainly indebted 
for their uninterrupted public services, from the com- 
mencement of our independence, to the present hour. 
Nor shall I risk lessening the merit of their perseverance, 
by inquiring how much of the public money they might 
have pocketed in all that time ; or whether any other 
trade they could have turned their hands to would have 
proved equally productive. Let it no longer be said that 
the people are ungrateful, or that virtue in republics 
goes unrewarded. 

If Washington has no tomb, he must somehow have 
displeased the people. He fought their battles, it is 
true ; but, was he sufficiently tender of their pockets ? — 
sufficiently obsequious to their sovereignty ? — Did he tell 
them that he loved them ? — No ; but he presumed to 
differ from them in opinion, and give them advice, and 
freemen choose to think for themselves : Nor will they 
submit to admonition from the bench or the pulpit. 

During the sitting of the convention, the direful revo- 
lution in France was in progress, and its proceedings 



FRENCH REVOLUTION BURKE AND PAINE. 375 



sometimes appealed to as guides for our conduct. Though 
hardly daring to blame, and less impressed than I ought 
to have been with the treatment of the clergy, I pre- 
sume no one ever heard me praise ; for there was folly 
enough to disgust before the appearance of crime ; and 
I thought the nation was about to throw away the most 
amiable part of its character. I remember, one day, at 
the table of General Mifflin, at this time president of the 
state, when the Parisian courtesans were applauded for 
contributing their patriotic gifts, 1 ventured to call in 
question the immense merit of the proceeding. I was 
stared at by a pious clergyman for the shocking hetero- 
doxy of my sentiments, and should probably have been 
drawn into an altercation, no less disagreeable than in- 
discreet, had not the General, in a friendly manner, pa- 
cified the parson, by whispering him in the ear, that 
I was perfectly well disposed, and only sporting an opi- 
nion. So overwhelming was the infatuation, so ominous 
the fanaticism, that even this godly personage had quite 
forgotten that incontinence was a sin. He " could have 
hugged the wicked sluts, — they pleased him." 

Nearly about the time of this occurrence, I happened 
to be at Reading, where Burke's Reflections on the 
French Revolution, with Paine's Rights of Man, both of 
which had just come out, were the general topic of con- 
versation. I had seen neither ; and when they were 
given me to read, I was apprised of the delight I should 
receive from the perusal of Paine's pamphlet. As to 
Burke, I was told it was heavy and tedious, but that it 
was necessary to condemn myself to a wading through it 
first, for the sake of better understanding and relishing 
Paine's, which was in answer to it. I read them 5 but, 
to my great misfortune, and contrary to all expectation, 



376 



GENERAL WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



I became so firm an adherent to Burke, that his oppon- 
ent made not the smallest impression. I have already 
made confessions which cautious men may start at. But 
this is worse than all. The stolen Ribbon of Rousseau 
was nothing to it ; nor, although events have proved me 
right, is that of any consequence. Many other things 
have turned out right too ; but that does' not lessen the 
odium of their early advocates. It is the essence of 
sound civism to think with one's fellow-citizens \ on no 
account to anticipate them ; and I ought to have thought 
wrong, because it was the fashion. Republican morality, 
like republican other things, being made by general suf- 
frage, will not always take the trouble to ferret truth 
from her well ; and as it is manufactured pro re nata 9 
on the spur of the occasion, it is liable, of course, to gen- 
tie fluctuations — but infinitely safer, by the bye, in prac- 
tice, than that of the old school. I here speak from 
woeful experience. 

Under the administration of President Washington, 
the prosperity of the country was advanced with a rapi- 
dity which exceeded the most sanguine expectation of 
the friends to the new system. It afforded a cheering 
example of what a republic is capable, whose councils 
are solely directed with a view to the general good ; and 
if ever a portion of the human race was in that auspicious 
predicament, it was that composing the population of 
these United States. But what is the general prosperity 
to hearts that are torn by the furies of disappointed 
ambition or avarice ? It is but as paradise to the foe of 
mankind, engendering a more deadly venom in the tor- 
tured soul, soothing itself with the dire imagery of Clau- 
dian's Alecto. 



GENERAL WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



377 



Siccine tranquillo produci saecula cursu ? 
Sic fortunatas patiemur vivere gentes ? 
&c. &c. 

Unfortunately, there was no proportion between the 
offices to be disposed of, and the persons who had been 
in expectancy. Nothing less than miraculous power 
could have so distributed the loaves and fishes, as to fill 
the immense multitude that hungered for them ; and 
the dissatisfied only repined at a success, which, in 
giving happiness to the community, promised stability to 
the rulers whose labours had procured it, and, in so do- 
ing, seemed to ratify the blanks as well as prizes which 
had been drawn. In each of the States there w r ere, no 
doubt, numerous malecontents ; but they, probably, 
most abounded in Virginia and Pennsylvania. In the 
former, there was a number of aspirants for high office, 
who could illy brook, that while they in their closets, re- 
mote from the din of arms and clangour of trumpets, 
had been qualifying themselves for the great affairs of the 
new empire coming out ready-made to their hands, others, 
who had spent their youth in the unlettered business of 
the camp, should be preferred to employments they deem- 
ed exclusively due to their own superior attainments. 
Mr Jefferson and Mr Randolph had, indeed, been gra- 
tified with places, but there were others equally ardent 
for them, unprovided for ; and other motives concurring, 
the native State of the President was, perhaps, the most 
refractory in the Union. . The chagrin in Pennsylvania 
did not proceed from precisely the same causes. The 
discontented here had hardly looked for the flattering 
notice of the general government ; but they felt, (I 
speak of them in the aggregate, with due latitude for 
honest exceptions,) that their intriguing parts would be 



378 



PARTY DISSENSIONS. 



miserably circumscribed by the operation of the new 
system ; and that on a theatre, where talents and 
character were the sole recommendation to office and 
consequence, their chance of influence was a very 
sorry one. Far different was it in the state government, 
in which they had been accustomed to shine and to dic- 
tate. There, a little learning would go a great way ; 
and cunning was a quality of infinitely more advantage 
to the possessor than wisdom or true ability ; and though 
the state authorities were still in force, they were no 
longer supreme, but subordinate. I am aware that this 
representation does not agree with the prevalent idea of 
our party dissensions. This recognizes, with very little 
discrimination, a lofty tone and aristocratical tendency 
on the part of the federalists ; while, on that of their 
opponents, it discovers an ardent concern for the peo- 
ple's rights, somewhat more jealous, perhaps, than neces- 
sary, and an enthusiastic attachment to liberty, excessive 
indeed, but even amiable in its extravagance. That this 
enthusiasm or fanaticism had once existed, may be grant- 
ed 5 but to admit that it prevails to any degree at pre- 
sent, would require a determination to believe in de- 
fiance of the clearest evidence to the contrary, since they 
who are or were supposed to have it are conspicu- 
ous for an overweening partiality for the most flagitious 
and desolating system of arbitrary rule, that was ever es- 
tablished to an equal extent upon mankind, without even 
being disguised by a mollifying appellation. My hypo- 
thesis, therefore, must absolutely exclude the love of li- 
berty and equal rights, as a general feeling among the 
democrats of the day, not only now, but in time past. 
"Whatever benevolent motives they might claim, it is 
perfectly fair to conclude, that they were actuated by a 



PARTY DISSENSIONS MB JEFFERSON- 



379 



headlong instinct of self-love ; a blind infuriate impulse, 
prompting those possessed with it to remove, at what- 
ever price, every obstacle to the consummation of their 
unhallow T ed purpose of rising upon the rubbish of wide- 
pread havoc and devastation. It is no objection to 
this supposition, that many of the democratical leaders 
had too much property themselves to favour such an ob- 
ject. They might not all have been aware of it ; and 
those, that were, no doubt, entertained the idea, that 
they could restrain their instruments when necessary ; 
or even if they could not, that they should, at all events, 
escape unhurt in virtue of their fellowship. This is 
the unction, which, in these cases, is always laid to 
the soul : nor can it be supposed, that the Duke of Or- 
leans thought his head in the smallest danger from those 
he had kindly helped by his vote, to the head of the 
king. 

As to the great leader of the opposition, there is rea- 
son to believe he was head, heart, and hand in the noble 
project of renovating, by first destroying the world. 
Tout detruire, oui tout detruire ; puisque tout est re- 
creer, says Monsieur Robaud de St Etienne. He had 
been in France, and drank deep of her literature and 
philosophy. His official doings and messages show his 
utter contempt for un vrai trivial, un clarte tropfamili- 
ere; and that he was wholly of that school which 
teaches, as Mr Burke tells us, " that any good arising 
from religion or morality may be better supplied by a ci- 
vic education, founded in a knowledge of the physical 
wants of men, progressively carried to an enlightened 
self-interest, which, when well understood, will identify 
with an interest more enlarged and public." Robe- 
spierre, to be sure, gave an unlucky illustration of this 



380 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



fine doctrine in France. His enlightened self-interest 
gave him clearly to perceive, that, as he aspired to sove- 
reign rule himself, so others did the same ; and that, 
therefore, unless he sent them to their eternal sleep, 
they would do as much for him. But in Ameri- 
ca it has turned out better : and the enlightened 
self-interest which prompted Mr Jefferson to cast 
an eye upon the presidency, has most edifyingly identi- 
fied with the interest of the mouth of labour, if not the 
whole, at least a very essential part of the public. This 
mouth of labour, by the bye, is one of the fine figures of 
speech, by means of which this gentleman has been 
enabled to triumph over the popularity even of Wash- 
ington ; although it is sacrilegiously thought by some, 
to savour a little of that jargon, which the same Mr 
Burke somewhat harshly denominates " the patois of 
fraud, the cant and gibberish of hypocrisy." But we, 
on this side of the water, ought to have more indulgence 
for a trade growing out of our institutions. As the peo- 
ple give power, and power p'bmotes thrift, the people 
may certainly be complimented a little : and hence, in- 
tolerance towards demagogues may fairly be ranked 
among the anti-republican tendencies. No censure, 
therefore, is aimed at one who is the quintessence of 
good republicanism, and too pure to take a stain though 
fondling with imperialism. For my own part, I am 
elated with the opportunity of recording my veneration 
for a patriot who has so rapidly advanced the morals of 
this new world, and whose scrupulous observance of truth 
pre-eminently entitles him to the motto of utam impen- 
dere vero* 

The French revolution then, from the attachment 
now shown by the Jeffersonians to the absolute despot- 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



381 



ism that has been produced by it, it is fair to conclude, 
was less beloved by them for any philanthropic disposi- 
tion it manifested, than from its being an engine where- 
with to assail their adversaries in power ; and it was so 
much the better adapted to this purpose as it was in con- 
flict with Britain, that accursed island, which, in the 
opinion of all sound Jacobins, ought, long since, to have 
been sunk in the sea. To declare a neutrality, there- 
fore, with respect to the belligerents, as was done by the 
administration, what was it but a base dereliction of the 
cause of republicanism — a most enormous act of ingrati- 
tude to those liberty-loving men who had benevolently 
taken off the head of Louis XVI. our late generous ally 
and " protector of the rights of man ?" and who, by so 
doing, had made themselves the undoubted heirs of the 
immense debt of gratitude we had contracted with the 
murdered monarch? On the score of this gratitude 
transferred, can it ever be forgotten, what a racket was 
made with the citizen Genet? The most enthusiastic 
homage was too cold to welcome his arrival ; and his 
being the first minister of the infant republic, " fruit of 
her throes and first born of her loves," was dwelt upon 
as a most endearing circumstance. What hugging and 
tugging ! What addressing and caressing ! What moun- 
tebanking and chaunting! with liberty-caps and the 
other wretched trumpery of sans culotte foolery ! " Give 
me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, to sweeten my 
imagination 1" In short, it was evident that the govern- 
ment was, if possible, to be forced from its neutrality ; 
and that nothing less than a common cause with France, 
a war of extermination with England, and the other mo- 
narchies of Europe, would satisfy the men who are now so 
outrageously pacific as to divest themselves of the means 



382 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



of annoyance and defence, and to place their glory in 
imitating the shrinking policy of a reptile. Fortunately 
for the nation, Washington was at the head of it ; or 
the rage for universal republicanism, combining with 
the plea of gratitude derived from Jacobin morality, 
would have rivetted us in liege subjection to the impe- 
rial Napoleon. 



YELLOW FEVER. 



383 



CHAPTER XV. 

Yellow Fever— Political Differences — Insurrection suppress- 
edby the prudent Measures of the President — Treaty with 
Great Britain — Travels of the Duke de la Rochefoucaidt 
Liancourt — French Settlement at the Asylum — Opposition 
to the Measures of the President — Washington retires from 
Office. 

Such was the state of parties in the summer of 1793, 
when the metropolis of Pennsylvania, then resounding 
with unhallowed orgies at the dismal butcheries in 
France, was visited with a calamity which had much the 
appearance of one of those inflictions which heaven 
sometimes sends to purify the heart. A disease that 
was soon recognized to be the pestilential yellow fever, 
carried off several persons early in the month of August ; 
and gradually spreading in all directions, raged with the 
most fatal malignancy until the close of October. 
Those, whose property enabled them to do it, fled 
with precipitation from the city, which was supposed to 
have been deserted by half its inhabitants ; but enough 
remained behind to swell the mortality to several thou- 
sands. The dismay was, if possible, increased by the 
disagreement of the physicians as to the mode of treat- 
ing the disorder ; and numbers who had exulted in the 
havoc of their kind, because belonging to a different 
class, feeling death to be a serious evil when brought 



384 



YELLOW FEVER. 



home to themselves, shrunk, appalled with abject terror 
at the dangers which surrounded them. 

To each his sufPrings : all are men, 
Condemn'd alike to groan, 
The tender for another's pain, 
Th' unfeeling for his own. 

A general gloom pervaded the country ; for although 
the ravages of the disease were yet confined to Philadel- 
phia, it was not supposed they would remain within these 
limits, notwithstanding that every precaution which the 
most unfeeling vigilance could suggest was used to pre- 
vent the spreading of the pestilence. Measures were ta- 
ken in almost every town and village to prohibit the en- 
try of persons suspected of infection ; and even fugitives 
from the seat of it, though in health, were regarded with 
a jealous eye. Some of the people of Harrisburgh were 
for following the example of their neighbours, though a 
malady not less fatal than that in Philadelphia was raging 
among themselves. But the difference was, that one was 
called a plague, the other but a simple fever. It is some- 
what remarkable, that if the yellow fever is of foreign 
origin, as insisted upon by many, that a disease of a si- 
milar type should make its appearance at the same time 
on the banks of the Susquehanna, at the distance of an 
hundred miles. Shall we say that the state of the atmo- 
sphere which generated the one was favourable to the 
diffusion of the other ? This, I believe, is the doctrine 
of those who contend that the yellow fever is of exotic 
growth, and always imported, when it appears among us. 
It would be highly presumptuous in me to undertake to 
decide, when " doctors disagree but, that a state of 
the air should be favourable and adequate to the diffusion, 



YELLOW FEVER. 



385 



hut not to the origination of a contagion, is certainly re- 
fining somewhat nicely. I venture, however, no opinion 
upon the subject. With respect to the mortality produ 
ced by the two diseases, that at Harrisburgh was, I be- 
lieve, in proportion to the population of the place, as 
great as that at Philadelphia. I cannot take upon me 
minutely to describe the symptoms of the Harrisburgh 
disease, nor were they the same in all that were sick, but 
a general one was, an affection of the stomach, or nausea, 
with violent retchings, and a yellowness of the skin. Some 
were ill a week, some longer, some died in two or three 
days from the time of their being seized, and others, who 
were walking about with symptoms only of the ague, sud- 
denly took ill and expired. The black vomit, which has 
sometimes been supposed peculiar to the yellow fever, 
appeared in some cases. I was attacked with a quartan 
ague, about the middle of September ; but had none of 
the grievous symptoms of the malignant fever which pre- 
vailed. 

Whatever may be the points of discrimination be- 
tween the bilious and yellow fever, the origination of the 
one seems to depend on the same cause which spreads 
the other ; and this appears to be a torrid sun acting 
upon a moist soil, or upon impure and stagnant water. 
The matter which produces agues, and which, according 
to Dr Cullen, is miasmata alone, is, I take it, competent 
also to the generation of bilious fever in habits disposed 
to it ; and if not to the generation, at least to the propa- 
gation or spreading of the yellow fever ; wherefore, the 
vapours from low and marshy situations and waters, ren- 
dered baneful from certain adventitious circumstances, 
may be pronounced to be the support or aliment of all 
these diseases, more peculiarly of the latter, perhaps. 

Bb ' 



386 



MARSH EFFLUVIA DELETERIOUS. 



when the exhalations are rendered more than commonly 
noxious from the general state of the atmosphere. Egypt, 
Syria, and Turkey, are at once the seat of the plague, 
and of bilious and intermitting fevers. 

But the deleterious effects of marsh effluvia in warm 
climates have, perhaps, been known from the earliest 
time. They are, at least, recognised by Silius Italicus, 
who wrote in the reign of Nero. Speaking of a pesti- 
lence which raged in the Roman army in the second 
Punic war, he ascribes it to the fervid rays of the sun, 
acting upon the stagnant and wide spread waters of the 
Cyane. 

Criniger astriferis Titan fervoribus auras 
Et patulam Cyanam/late palustribus undis 
Stagnantem, stygio Cocyti opplevit odore. 

This cause existed at Harrisburgh. A mill-dam had been 
erected the season before on the Paxton, rather a turbid 
and sluggish stream, within five or six hundred yards of 
the middle of the town, on its eastern side. The ob- 
struction must have spread the water over a surface of 
from eight to ten acres ; and this, co-operating with a 
state of the atmosphere unusually morbid this season in 
such situations, may fully account for the fever which 
prevailed. In the fall of the year 1792* there were some 
cases of it, and still more in that of 179^, equally malig- 
nant; after which the mill-dam was removed. I have 
been the more particular on this subject, though with- 
out being able to offer any thing satisfactory, from know- 
ing it to have been a matter of some interest with the 
physicians of Philadelphia, to ascertain the nature of 
the Harrisburgh disease ; thence to deduce data towards 
the solution of the question, whether the yellow fever, as 



POPULAR FEELINGS TOWARDS FRANCE, 387 



appearing in our cities, be, or not, a malady of exclusive- 
ly foreign origin. 

The distress I saw around me ; the dismal tidings from 
Philadelphia ; and, above all, the frightful mania which 
had taken possession of a vast majority of my fellow-citi- 
zens, induced a dejection of mind I had never before ex- 
perienced. I had been for some time labouring to stem 
the torrent of fanaticism among my townsmen ; but to 
no other purpose than that of increasing their violence, 
and drawing down upon myself the denunciation of be- 
ing inimical to liberty, and an unnatural partizan of Eng- 
land. It was in vain I urged that I was only treading 
in the steps of the President, whom all pretended to 
revere ; that he had chosen for his country the path of 
neutrality, and that it was the duty of all good citizens to 
acquiesce in it, until it should be abandoned by those who 
were legally constituted to say, what should be the state of 
the nation in relation to the powers at war. The bringing 
of the name of Washington to my aid produced no sort 
of embarrassment among the maniacs for regeneration, 
who, in the same breath, extolled him to the skies, and 
denounced perdition on those who supported his policy. 
In fact, his name was constantly used to sanction the 
measures of his opponents ; and even in the contest for 
the presidency between Mr Adams and Mr Jefferson, it 
is a matter of notoriety, that his dislike to the administra- 
tion of the former was atrociously asserted in defiance of 
his letter announcing his acceptance of the command of 
the army, and unqualified approbation of the steps which 
had been taken. It has been said, that hell itself cannot 
be governed without some degree of truth ; and, if so, 
for policy sake, at least, we ought not wholly to discard 
her. My indignation at this base dereliction of every 



388 



PARTY FEELINGS. 



honourable and moral principle, conspiring with my firm 
conviction that my opinions were correct, made me an 
enthusiast in the cause I had espoused ; and the feeble 
efforts of my pen were employed in vindicating the con- 
duct of administration — in exposing the folly, the frenzy, 
the duplicity, and hideous wickedness of its adversaries. 
I derived an additional incentive to exertion, from the 
consideration, that the civilized world was so singularly 
circumstanced, that good men of every nation and coun- 
try had a common cause to maintain ; and that, in the 
threatened universal wreck, conditions were so confound- 
ed, that even the private American citizen might feel 
himself nearly on the same eminence with those great 
and truly enlightened European statesmen, who were la- 
bouring to avert the impending desolation : as in a vessel 
in danger of foundering, the navigator's skill is, at the mo- 
ment, of no account ; and the meanest hand on board 
may be engaged in stopping the leak, and plying the 
pump, to as much effect as the captain. But of what use 
are endeavours to fix the charge of swindling on a poli- 
tical adversary ? He denies it, and retorts the accusation. 
Thus, with two-thirds of the people, who are incapable 
of investigating the truth, did they even think it worth 
their pains to do so, the parties, as to honesty, are left 
upon a level ; and, hence, as the sovereign has no objec- 
tion to being deceived, he will be deceived, and villany 
will be triumphant. Such has been, and will be, the 
common effect of appeals to Mr Jefferson's Bar of Public 
Reason, which, if the phrase be not intended as a sar- 
casm upon the tribunal, it must be meant as a cruel 
mockery of those who are interested in just decisions 
from it. 

A mong the abominations of this rage for French liber- 



PARTY FEELINGS 



389 



ty and fraternity, there has been, all along, an utter dis~ 
regard of the most obvious dictates of justice, humanity, 
and consistency. In the beginning, the revolution must, 
at all events, go on : ga ira was the word, and no matter 
by what monsters the business was conducted. Power, 
for this reason, was always the criterion of right : and 
Robespierre, until his head was ascertained to be off, was 
no less popular with us than the best of his predecessors. 
And for what was this horrible sacrifice of every thing 
we had, heretofore, been taught to consider as virtuous 
and honest ? To destroy kings and nobles, monarchy 
and aristocracy, and to make a huge republic of the world, 
wherein all men were to be equal : or if there should, 
peradventure, be a little temporary inequality, it should 
alone be founded on the uninvidious pre-eminence of in- 
tellectual acuteness in the acquisition of pelf or popular 
suffrage ; sound titles, without question to superiority 
among men ! Colonel Chartres, for instance, among the 
first, and names beginning with every letter of the al- 
phabet among the latter. But since this great republic 
has not come, or since, at least, it has not come precise- 
ly in the form that was predicted, having clothed itself 
in imperial purple, instead of the plain homespun garb, 
in which it was expected to appear ; and having, more- 
over, in the place of its former hosts of patriotic citizens 
and citesses, presented us with dukes and titled men in- 
numerable, with its Abrantes, its Cadores, its Ponte 
Corvos, and Beneventos, what is the ground of our at- 
tachment, now, to the great nation ? To restore the 
freedom of the seas, and destroy that Pandora's box of 
human ills, Great Britain. Wisely answered again, and 
shrewd and patriotic must be the men, who began and still 
maintain their claim to exclusive popularity and confi- 



390 



AN INSURRECTION THREATENED. 



dence by two such admirable and solid systems of policy 
and ethics ; and shrewder still that goodly portion of the 
people which shows itself capable of appreciating and re- 
warding such transcendent state ability ! But I must not 
encroach on the province of the party editor. 

As every circumstance was seized by the discontented 
to embarrass the administration, or, in the proverbial 
phrase, " to stop the wheels of government/' a handle 
was made of the excise law. A duty being laid upon 
whisky, that general and favourite beverage in Pennsyl- 
vania, it was found a potent theme for the purpose of se- 
dition ; and it was accordingly preached upon with so 
much unction, that an insurrection was the consequence. 
It began beyond the mountains in the summer of 1794, 
spreading from west to east with wonderful rapidity. 
Harrisburgh was quickly infected ; and a meeting had 
been called for the purpose of passing some inflammatory 
resolutions. By the persuasion, however, of a few of us, 
who were untouched by the contagion, these incon- 
siderate men were induced to desist ; though less, per- 
haps, from a sense of their error, than from our assurance 
that a body of troops were on their march to the seat of 
insurrection ; and that, if they persisted in their under- 
taking, they would involve themselves in the guilt of a 
forcible opposition to the laws, and most surely have 
cause to repent of their temerity. It is difficult to say 
what might have been the issue of this commotion, had 
not the President taken immediate measures for its sup- 
pression, and called out a force so respectable, as at once 
to overawe the seditious, and thereby prevent the effu- 
sion of blood. The insurgents who had once assembled 
at Parkinson's Perry had proposed another meeting at 
Braddock's Field ; a location, without doubt, adopted in 



SUPPRESSED BY THE PRESIDENT. 



891 



terrorem, and by way of hint to the effeminate fede- 
ralists, what a set of bloody-minded fellows they had to 
deal with. But the device, however well conceived, 
was wholly lost upon General Washington, who had 
seen all sorts of folks in his campaigning, and knew that 
men with mockissons, and leggings, and hunting-shirts, 
and tomahawks, and rifles, were just about as brave as 
men with powdered heads and silk stockings, and no 
braver ; and that their standing on Braddock's Field, 
(tremendous spot, to be sure !) would not make them a 
jot more ready to leave their carcasses to bleach there 
among bones that had been whitening by a forty years 
exposure. At any rate, these formidable circumstances 
did not prevent his putting himself in a posture to bring 
this lawless assemblage to reason ; and what was equal- 
ly unlucky for them was, there being at his disposal a 
number of persons who had also seen service, and, there- 
fore, as little liable as himself to be dismayed by hideous 
grimaces. To cut a well known story short, there was 
no fighting after all ; it being thought best by the in- 
surgents, on serious deliberation, to send ambassadors to 
sue for peace, one of whom, if I mistake not, was the 
veteran statesman Mr .Findley, a man so minutely ac- 
quainted with the whole business, as to have been en- 
abled to write a book upon it nearly as thick as a well- 
sized cheese ; and in which, I am told, for I have never 
read it, he belabours General Hamilton most unmerciful- 
ly. Washington, as already observed, was still too popular 
for a direct attack. Whenever, therefore, he was spoken 
of, it was with the warmest professions of veneration for 
his virtues and good intentions — thus complimenting his 
heart at the expence of his head, and representing him 
as a good, easy simpleton, who, not very well aware of 



S92 THE WESTERN EXPEDITION". 

the tendency of his measures, was continually led into 
scrapes by the cunning rogues who surrounded him, the 
archest of whom, at this time, was Hamilton. How 
exhilarating to wounded patriotism, thus, by a stroke of 
the pen, to sink into a fool and a knave, these two great 
champions of federalism ! 

The Western Expedition, as it was called, gave me an 
opportunity of seeing a number of my old friends from 
Philadelphia ; and it afforded also a momentary triumph 
to the poor handful of Harrisburgh federalists, who were 
stated by their opponents to amount to only five. A 
French flag, which had been flying at the eourt-house, 
then building, had been the cause of some squibbing in 
the newspaper ; and this flag was peremptorily ordered 
to be taken down by the troops from the city. Had I 
been disposed for revenge, I might, upon this occasion, 
have been fully gratified, as I was repeatedly asked who 
had caused it to be put up, and impliedly censured for 
giving evasive answers to the questions ; which, from 
their manner, evinced a disposition to treat the authors 
of it much more roughly than would have been agree- 
able to me. 

Conspicuous among the crowd that rolled on from 
the eastward was Governor Mifflin, who had been vi- 
brating with much address between the parties ; and had 
really the merit of keeping them in tolerable humour, 
within the sphere of his influence,, that is, within the 
limits of the state. 

Such in the midst the parting Isthmus lies, 
While swelling seas on either side arise. 

He had a large suite, which, as it consisted of gentlemen 
of both parties, he was tugged a good deal in opposite 



ADDUESS TO THE PRESIDENT. 



directions ; though, on this occasion, his leaning was de- 
cidedly federal, and being so, he did me the honour to 
accept of a bed at my house, instead of one at General 
Hanna's, which he had in his offer. I have no doubt, 
however, that his head and heart were generally right, 
maugre a conduct often wrong ; and though I am as 
little addicted as any one to compromise between my 
conscience and an opposing interest, and, of course, not 
at all disposed to apologize for his temporizing, I can- 
not but admit, that Mifflin was a pleasing man, and one 
to whom I was indebted for many acts of kindness. But 
popularity and the bustle of public life were hobby- 
horses he could not dispense with. He must mount 
them, therefore, though at something more than a risk 
of being spattered by the dirt which they raised* 

On the day after his arrival he convened the people 
at the market house, and gave them an animated ha- 
rangue, in which there was nothing exceptionable save 
a monstrous suggestion, that the British had stirred up 
the discontents to the westward, and been the cause of 
the present opposition to government. I wonder if Mr 
Smilie, Mr Gallatin, and the rest of them, were aware 
that they were but the puppets of this abominable 
nation ! 

In a few days after the Governor, General Washing- 
ton, accompanied by Colonel Hamilton, came on. After 
waiting on them, I prevailed upon the burgesses to pre- 
sent an address to the President, which I sketched out, 
and which, from the cordiality of the answer, appeared 
to have been well received. But as they have both 
been published, it is unnecessary to insert them here. 

As to myself, I could not partake of the glory of this 
expedition. An ague which had hung about me, ever 



394 



FRENCH PARTY. 



since the preceding fall, had rendered me unfit for ser- 
vice. Nevertheless, I procured a substitute, in pre- 
ference to claiming an exemption on account of my de- 
bility. 

That this commotion in its infancy was highly pleas- 
ing to the opposition leaders, can hardly be doubted ; 
and that it was cherished also by the French minister as 
a favourable circumstance towards the predominance of 
the Gallic interest, is fairly to be inferred from his no- 
tice of our " early decrepitude/' and his intimation, that 
for some thousands of dollars, he could have plunged us 
into a civil war. But I think he was mistaken here, 
as the intriguers were neither fighting men, nor dispos- 
ed for absolute anarchy : yet from his assertion of what he 
might have done by means of cash, it is a matter of obvious 
deduction, unless Mr Fouchet was a liar, that he had an 
understanding on the subject with the master-demo* 
crats, who, by way of apology, as I take it, for not driv- 
ing on the insurrection with more spirit, had pleaded 
their want of pecuniary means. Some of them, indeed, 
might have been willing to touch the dollars, had the 
Frenchman been fool enough to bring them forth ; but, 
even in that case, he would have been over-reached, and 
got nothing for his money. 

One more stand was made against the popularity of 
the President. The occasion was found in the treaty 
with Britain, negotiated by Mr Jay. This was to have 
been expected ; as a heavy clamour was raised at the time 
of his appointment to the mission, upon grounds it would 
be both tedious and unnecessary to go over. The trea- 
ty, after much deliberation, had been ratified in the con- 
stitutional mode ; but as it depended on the House of 
Representatives to make the appropriations necessary 



TREATY WITH BRITAIN OPPOSED. 



395 



for carrying it into effect, it was here attempted to be 
defeated by withholding them. Mr Jay was as much 
vilified, as if he had laid the entire interests of his coun- 
try at the feet of a foreign power ; for such things were 
then justly considered as crimes. But shall the treaty 
go into effect ? This was the question in the House of 
Representatives, and it was debated for weeks upon eve- 
ry point but the one really in issue, namely, whether 
any treaty, whatever might be its stipulations or advan- 
tages, was admissible with Great Britain ; and whether 
the anti-federal party, should it relinquish the vital nou- 
rishment it derived from a deadly, implacable, and ever- 
lasting enmity to this accursed island, would be able to 
sustain itself, or have a chance of ever rising again ? 
These were the merits of the cause, though cautiously 
kept out of view. The treaty, however, stood its ground ; 
and the sole consolation of the defeated faction was to 
wait, with what patience it might, for the death or resig- 
nation (to borrow its own phraseology) of the " first and 
greatest of revolutionary patriots." Before dismissing 
the topic, it may be remarked, that the ground upon 
which the treaty was most strenuously assailed was, that 
it imposed some slight restrictions upon our trade. Yes 
— this was a ground taken by the very candid and im- 
partial men, who now advocate non-intercourse laws and 
perpetual embargoes, rather than expose themselves to a 
collision with the other belligerent nation. 

In the spring or summer of 1795, a letter was deli- 
vered by a gentleman at my house, which gave me the 
opportunity of a transient acquaintance with the Duke 
de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, who, being on a tour to 
see the country, was recommended to my attentions. 



BOOKMAKING TRAVELLER. 



My respect for the writer of the letter would have in- 
duced me to avail myself of the honour it offered me ; 
but, being indisposed and depressed by a domestic afflic- 
tion, I did not go out, and thus escaped the scrutiniz- 
ing eye of the illustrious traveller. It is certainly a 
perilous thing to stand before a man about to make a book, 
and who gauges and proves you with a view to making your 
quantities and qualities a component part of his subject 
matter. General Hanna, it appears, had been in this 
predicament ; and, all things considered, he comes off 
very well. His age, I must say, was pretty accurately 
guessed at by the duke, who is also correct in his other 
observation, that the general preferred chewing to smok- 
ing tobacco. Were I about framing an hypothesis why 
Mr Hanna makes a somewhat better figure in the tour 
than the gentlemen of Reading, in spite of their acknow- 
ledged hospitality and " obliging answers to inquiries," I 
should say that he talked European politics with rather 
more understanding than they did, little, as the duke 
tells us, they are at best understood in America. Those 
talked in Reading, probably, were not entirely to the 
taste of a good Frenchman, who, if I understand the 
character that phrase would designate, would cry, Vive le 
nation et sa gloire, not only in exile, but with his neck 
under the guillotine. Now, though the Reading gen- 
tlemen spoke with just abhorrence of the crimes of the 
Revolution, and with due respect of the Marquis de la 
Fayette, they might neither have testified a desire that 
England should be brought to the feet of France, nor 
that the destinies of the world should be subjected to her 
control, things which, from his party. leanings, Mr Han- 
na might have countenanced. All this, however, is but 



FRENCH TRAVELLERS, 



397 



conjecture ; and as to the accuracy of the noble tourist's 
facts, so far as I am acquainted with them, I have no- 
thing to object, except as to the havoc of names. 

From this gentleman I turn to others of his nation 
whom he speaks of in his travels ; and for whose ac- 
quaintance I was indebted to Major Adam Hoops, 
who, I should have mentioned before, did me the honour 
to attach himself to my company, in the capacity of a 
volunteer, during part of the campaign of 1776. A let- 
ter from him about the year 1790 or 1791, so far as my 
recollection serves, introduced me to Mr Talon, then 
engaged with the Viscount De Noailles, in establishing 
a settlement on the North Branch of the Susquehanna, 
and to which they gave the name of Asylum. In the 
course of this business, he several times passed through 
Harrisburgh, and never failed, on these occasions, giving 
me an opportunity of seeing him. Mr Talon fully jus- 
tified, to my conception, the favourable idea that is given 
by Lord Chesterfield and others of a Frenchman of 
rank. I have seldom seen a gentleman with whose 
manners I was more pleased. Though he spoke 
bat little English, and I less French, yet, from the 
knowledge we respectively had of each other's language, 
we contrived to make ourselves mutually understood. 
On one of his visits to Harrisburgh he was attended by 
not less than ten or a dozeil gentlemen, all adventurers 
in the new establishment, from which they had just re- 
turned on their way to Philadelphia. Of these, I only 
recollect the names of M. De Blacons, Captain Keating, 
and Captain Boileau. My brother and myself, who had 
waited on them at their inn, were kept to supper, and I 
have rarely passed a more agreeable evening. The re* 
freshment of a good meal, coffee, and wine, had put in 



FRENCH TRAVELLERS, 



motion the national vivacity \ and the conversation, car- 
ried on in English, which many of the company spoke 
very well, was highly animated. Captain Keating was, 
in fact, an Irishman, and Captain Boileau had been 
among the troops which had served in this country. 
As to M. Blacons, he was but a novice in the language ; 
yet, hurried away by a high flow of spirits, he ventured 
so boldly in it, in expatiating to me on a projected road 
from Asylum to Philadelphia, which, according to him, 
required nothing but the consent of the legislature, to 
be completed out of hand, that Talon, astonished at his 
volubility, exclaimed, Ce n'est pas lui, c'est le vin que 
parle, " That it certainly was not he, but the wine, that 
was talking. 55 The French Revolution being touched up- 
on, it came into my head to ask Captain Boileau how it 
happened, that he, and the other gentlemen who had 
been in America, and who must, of course, have been 
among the foremost in inculcating the doctrine of liberty 
in France, were now so entirely in the back ground ? 
His answer was interrupted by a loud and general 
laugh ; and Talon, who had probably been adverse to 
the Revolution in all its stages and modifications, (as he 
was the person, on account of whose courteous reception 
General Washington had been roundly taken to task by 
the citizen Genet,) enjoyed the thing so much, that he 
thought it worthy of remembering, and put me in mind 
of it in an interview with him a long time afterwards. 
This gentleman had apparently stood high in the confi- 
dence of the king, as, on once dining with him at his 
lodgings, he, at the instance of a French lady from St 
Domingo, who was present, and had observed that I was 
uninfected with the regicide mania, showed me his pic- 
ture on the lid of a box studded with diamonds, that had 

8 



CHARACTER OF M. TALON. 



399 



been presented to him by his majesty, as the inscription 
imported. 

The Duke de la Rochefoucault gives some particulars 
of the Asylum settlement, humorously called by some 
of the settlers, rejugium peccatorum, and enumerates 
the families which had established themselves there, 
many of whom, from their names, I remember to have 
seen ; but I have understood that the settlement is now 
entirely abandoned by the French, and I have been told 
by persons who have seen the tract, that one more rug- 
ged and mountainous, except the particular spot whereon 
the town stands, could hardly be found. In this it 
agrees with Mr Talon's account of it, who, upon my 
asking him as to its situation, said the mountains were 
trop rapproches, thereby conveying the idea of a narrow 
strip of flat land along the river. The affairs of France 
were a subject not often touched upon by Mr Talon ; 
but it was impossible not sometimes to advert to them, 
and he testified much concern for the death of the mur- 
dered Malesherbes, who, if I mistake not, was one of 
the counsel for the king. He spoke of him as a noble 
generous man — un gallant homme was, I recollect, one 
of his expressions. Talon was understood to have been 
in the law-line himself, and to have been Avocat General 
under the old regime. If this was the fact, the office 
was, apparently, through royal favour, hereditary in his 
family, as one of the same name in that office is spoken 
of by Cardinal de Retz in the following very honourable 
manner, and the more so from his being in the oppo- 
site party, and a foe to his seditious designs. " Talon, 
advocate-general, made one of the finest speeches that 
was ever made on a like subject. I never heard or read 
any thing more eloquent. He mixed with his reasons 



400 



Washington's unpopularity. 



whatever could serve to make them the more moving. 
He invoked the manes of Henry the Great, and, kneel- 
ing down, he called upon St Louis to protect the king- 
dom of France. You fancy, perhaps, that you had 
laughed at this spectacle ; but it had moved you as it 
did the whole company, upon whom it worked in such 
a manner that the clamours of the inquests began, as I 
perceived, to decrease by it.'* Though this quotation 
may be thought a strange wandering from my purpose, 
inasmuch as it mingles the transactions of ages past with 
those of the present, I could not suppress it, since it 
places in so amiable a light the virtue of patriotism, and 
the irresistible eloquence which may flow from that 
source. We, too, have our sainted friend in Heaven, 
who, by a stretch of fiction more warrantable, may be 
supposed to be watching over the destinies of this coun- 
try ; but much, I question, whether an equally solemn 
invocation to his manes would find matter so soft as was 
found in the breast of this Catiline, and in the hearts of 
those who were set in motion by his machinations. 

To return to our own affairs. Although no other 
specific ground of opposition, than those already men- 
tioned, was taken against the President, yet the whole 
tenor of his administration was bitterly and incessantly 
inveighed against as hostile to liberty. The logic of de- 
mocracy was extremely compendious, and, therefore, the 
more satisfactory to superficial inquirers. On the one 
hand, it pointed to republican France ; on the other, to 
a combination of despots — and this was enough. In so 
interesting a struggle, could any friend to his kind be 
neutral ! And the inference was, that they who were 
not for France were against her, and monarchists,, to- 
nes, and tyrants, of course. The name of England, 

10 



GEN. WASHINGTON RETIRES FROM THE PRESIDENCY. 401 

too, was well calculated to rouse old resentments ; and 
the single circumstance of her being opposed to France 
was quite sufficient to make all staunch, Boeotian Whigs, 
allies of the latter. Was she not, it was asked, engaged 
in a cause exactly similar to our own — and shall we side 
with royalists against her ? Shall we not rather, in the 
glowing language of Genet, march to combat under her 
banners, and repay her for the generous assistance she 
gave us in our contest? Such arguments struck the 
public sensory with force ; and the impression they 
made was not to be effaced by any reasoning more com- 
plex and refined. Besides, who listens to reasoning that 
runs counter to his passions, his prejudices, and his in- 
terests ? One, perhaps, in a thousand. It now became 
evident, that, to be popular, or even tolerated, it was ne- 
cessary to be a partisan of the French ; as to doubt 
merely the holiness of their cause, was the certain road 
to odium and proscription. It is not at all to be wonder- 
ed at, therefore, that the prudent, the timid, and the 
thrifty, all lent themselves to democracy, and helped to 
swell a tide which seemed ready to rise above all mounds, 
and to bear down every thing before it, even to the 
weight and popularity of Washington. That good man 
now began to doubt whether the prize of independence, 
which had cost him so many anxious days and sleepless 
nights, were really worth the sacrifices which he had 
made for it ; and whether posterity might not have cause 
to question the value of his services, or, even under the 
smart of anarchy, to exclaim — " Curse on his virtues, 
they have undone his country !" Weary of the struggle 
" with vice and faction," he at length resolved, at the 
expiration of his second term of service, to retire from 
the presidency, and leave it to be scuffled for between 
Mr Adams and Mr Jefferson. 

c c 



40£ CHARACTER OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 

Never had the soul of Washington exhibited more il- 
lustrious proofs of true nobility, than in that very part of 
his life which excited the most viperous malignity, and 
brought upon him the execrable charge of having legal- 
ized corruption. Though always great — though in his 
early manhood distinguished as the protector of his coun- 
try from savage inroad and depredation — though the only 
man perhaps in America who, by a transcendently virtu- 
ous, prudent, dignified, and persevering, deportment, 
could have kept us united, and carried us triumphantly 
through the revolution — he never appeared to more ad- 
vantage than during the arduous season of his eight years 
presidency. Like the magnanimity displayed by Cato in 
his march through Syrtes and Libyan deserts, it might 
justly be preferred to the most brilliant military achieve- 
ments. 

Hunc ego per Syrteis Libyesque extrema triumphum 
Ducere maluirim, quam ter Capitolia curru 
Scandere Pompeii, quam frangere colla Jugurthae. 

Contrasting the glorious height to which he carried the 
American name with its present lamentable degradation ; 
the prosperity to which he raised his country with its pre- 
sent wretched state of despondency and subserviency to a 
foreign and despotic power ; are we not fully justified in 
applying to him the " fine rapture" of Lucan in regard 
to the patriot of Rome ? 

Ecce parens verus patriae, dignissimus aris 
Roma tuis ! 

His country's father here, O Rome, behold, 

Worthy thy temples, priests, and shrines of gold ! 

If e'er thou break thy lordly master's chain. — 

If liberty be e'er restor'd again, 

Him shalt thou place in thy divine abodes, 

Swear by his holy name, and rank him with thy gods. 



ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT ADAMS. 403 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Mr Adams President — Opposition to his Administration- 
French Partisans — Imposition of Taxes — Insurrection — 
Federalists lose their ground — Death of General Washing- 
ton, and Election of Mr Jefferson — Character of that Gentle- 
man — Reflections — Death of the Author's Mother — Conclu- 
sion. 

In the contest for the presidency Mr Adams prevail- 
ed by a very small majority. Hence, federalism was 
still ascendant in the National Councils, though consi- 
derably depressed in those of some of the states which 
were working by sap, while their myrmidons abroad 
displayed as much ardour to storm the strong hold of 
aristocracy, as the Parisians had done to demolish the 
Bastile. The tone given by Washington was maintain- 
ed by his successor. Equally federal, he spoke a lan- 
guage more lofty ; and in his answers to the numerous 
addresses which were presented to him on occasion of 
the insolence of the French Directory he was thought 
egregiously heterodox ; particularly in one in which he 
somewhat unnecessarily, indeed, takes occasion to speak 
of his having once had the honour to stand in the pre- 
sence of the Majesty of Britain. Shocking sounds, to 
be sure, to the republican ears of the day! — though now 
we can talk of the Imperial Majesty of France without 
the smallest danger of setting our teeth on edge, or of 



404 ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT ADAMS. 



being proscribed for incivism. Nay, we even permit a 
democratic editor to live, who, not long since, proposed 
to turn our republican president into a monarch, and to 
invest his temples with a diadem. 

But I must hasten through the stormy scene of Mr 
Adams's administration. The republicans, as they 
now styled themselves, (for nothing is more conducive 
to a successful cajolery of the people than a well chosen 
appellation,) having got rid of Washington, continued 
their efforts for the ascendancy with increased hopes and 
animation. They were no longer the enemies, but the 
friends and watchful guardians of that constitution they 
had so lately deprecated as the greatest evil that could 
befal them ; or, to use the words of citizen Fouchet, 
they had "disembarrassed themselves of the insignificant 
denomination of anti-federalists, and taken that of patriots 
and republicans." This was, doubtless, an able ma- 
nceuvre. They got possession, by it, of a popular name, 
and their next care was to show how well they deserved 
it. An occasion soon occurred for a display of their 
new patriotism and republicanism. This was the arro- 
gant and swindling conduct of the Directory already 
mentioned. Their demand of tribute, and threat, in 
case of non-compliance, to barter us away as they had 
done Venice, being properly felt, and resented by the 
sound part of the community, addresses to the President 
were poured in from every part of the union, expressive 
of a sense of the outrage received, and a determination 
to support the government in any measures of defence 
which the crisis might demand. The Directory did, un- 
questionably, make a sad blunder here, and might have 
ruined their cause if any thing could have ruined it. 
Instead of playing to the hands of their partners on this 



dr logan's mission to France. 405 

side the water, they forced them most unmercifully, by 
leading a suit they could not follow, but were absolutely 
obliged to ruff. Nevertheless, the awkward thrust was 
parried with admirable dexterity ; and joining a cry they 
could not silence, they came forward with their addresses 
too, breathing a most ardent zeal for the honour of their 
country, and a vehement indignation at the affront 
which had been offered it. To take off a little, how- 
ever, from the odium incurred by the Directory, under 
whose auspices they fought and machinated, they fell 
upon the extraordinary expedient of sending an extra- 
ordinary envoy, on their own account, to France, and 
the extraordinary personage selected for this service was 
Dr Logan. He was held out, at least, as the party's 
messenger. It appears to be in the essence of Jacobin- 
ism, as observed by Mr Burke, to excite contempt and 
laughter no less than horror and tears ; in the words of 
a French writer, on ne pent s'empecher d'en plenrer, et 
d'en rire. In France, its vis comica was illustrated in 
dubbing the ruthless Duke of Orleans, Monsieur Ega- 
lite ; and in America it exemplified itself in dubbing 
Dr Logan an ambassador of the people : and it was even 
attempted, in abject apery of the fantastic tricks of the 
great Alma mater, at Paris, to bring the Doctor's wife 
upon the stage in the manner of Roland's and Tallien's. 
It is perfectly in my recollection, that some of the de- 
mocratic prints of the day spoke of Logan and Deborah 
in the style of Louvet and his Ladouiskie. The object 
of the Doctor's mission, or going, (if not sent,) was 
twofold ; first, to assure the Directory that they had yet 
a strong party in America, which, if properly cherished 
and co-operated with, would "soon be predominant and 
enabled to repay their assistance with interest ; and 



406 



DR LOGANS MISSION TO FRANCE. 



second, to show the people of this country, that the 
Directory had no quarrel with them, but merely with 
their rulers ; and thence holding out an inducement to 
change them. What a blessed picture of republicanism 
was here ! and, to give its figures full relief, the proper 
light to set them off, it should be observed, that the 
persons exhibiting it had engrossed the commodity and 
possessed it exclusively. By the fundamental principles 
of the constitution, and, indeed, of all elective systems, 
to certain persons is delegated the power to govern : if 
they misuse the trust, they are removeable by the votes 
of the people, and others put in their places ; but fail- 
ing to accomplish this, the wheels of government were to 
be stopped, and its functions to be usurped by any that 
might choose to do it : Can a clearer definition be given 
of anarchy ? What lover of state juggling but must be 
charmed with the series of able tricking, by which the 
virtuous Jeffersonians crawled into power ? As Dr 
Logan has lately been to England with the same pacific- 
views (he tells us) with which he went to France, I 
shall not contest his motives in either case. Still, the 
use that was made of his voyage to France, by the party 
devoted to her, is a circumstance too important to be 
omitted in a recognition of the devices of the faction. 

It was to have been expected that the unexampled 
profligacy and insolence of the ruling power, in France, 
would have considerably depressed their democratic 
adherents in America, and strengthened the federalists 
in the same proportion ; but the consequences were 
directly the reverse. Alarmed much more than neces- 
sary at the menace of the Directory, and relying more 
upon the addresses from the people than a considerate 
attention to their sentiments would warrant ; (as, 



FRENCH PARTY IN AMERICA. 



407 



although they all expressed a warm regard for the 
honour of the country, they, for the most part, drivelled 
about the unkindness of the dear sister republic,) the 
administration and its friends in Congress seemed to 
think, that they were assured of the public support, in 
any measures against France, however energetic they 
might be. In this persuasion, such as deemed a state 
of hostility preferable to a state of fraternity with her, 
probably thought the occasion too favourable to be 
suffered to pass away ; and, in this view, an attitude 
unequivocally hostile was taken by the government. A 
provisional army was voted, volunteer corps invited, 
ships of war equipped, and as a part of the system of de- 
fence, against a foe which was well known to have nu- 
merous partizans among us, the alien and sedition laws 
were enacted. But the most volcanic ground of all was 
yet to be trodden. Money was to be raised, and not a 
little would suffice. The ordinary revenues were insuf- 
ficient ; and the adherents of the foreign power already 
exulted in the anticipated ruin of their adversaries, who 
vainly flattered themselves with a public confidence 
which could not be shaken. With less ability the in- 
triguers had vastly more cunning than the federalists ; 
and from their better acquaintance of the human heart 
in its selfishness and littlenesses, they well knew, that a 
direct and sensible application to the pocket would be 
more likely to blow up the prevailing party than any 
thing else. It has been well said, that a disorderly peo- 
ple will suffer a robbery with more patience than an im- 
post Under this conviction, the patriots had long 
sickened at perceiving that the community was satisfied ; 
and that the current expences of government were so 
easily raised. This was truly provoking. They wished 



408 



IMPOSITION OF TAXES. 



the people to feel, they said. It was not right that they 
should pay without knowing it ; and hence, a furious 
and persevering clamour against indirect taxation. It 
was reprobated as hateful and anti-republican in the 
extreme ; it was not to be endured ; and, inasmuch as 
it aimed at deceiving the people, (wicked thing!) by 
cheating them into contributions, which their love of 
country would always most cheerfully afford, when ne- 
cessary, it was represented to be unworthy of freemen ; 
and to imply a suspicion both of the virtue and under* 
standing of the community, which, about the same time, 
was voted by the democratic part of Congress, to be the 
most enlightened on the globe, France herself scarcely 
excepted. All this was vastly fine and highly pleasing, 
no doubt, to the galleries ; a charming material, too, for 
the republican editors to cook up a most savoury dish 
for their customers. The simple, well-meaning federal- 
ists, were, in their turn, pleased also at finding that their 
opponents were smoothing the way to a measure, that, 
in the present conjuncture, would be exceedingly eligi- 
ble for them ; and, therefore, with no small degree of 
self-complacency for their supposed address, took the 
tricksters at their word, and passed a law for a direct 
tax. Its operation was on houses and lands ; but still 
keeping in view the policy of favouring the industrious 
and frugal at the expence of the luxurious, the farmer 
paid very little for his property in proportion to the idle 
gentleman or inhabitant of a city, who gratified himself 
in the enjoyment of a sumptuous house. In the same 
spirit, a tax had been laid upon carriages kept for com- 
fort and pleasure ; an article which, beyond all others, 
made manifest the discrimination in behalf of the mouth 
of labour. Nevertheless, it was the mouth, that, from 



IMPOSITION t>F TAXES. 



409 



the hollow, pretended solicitude of its parasites, that it 
might not be " deprived of the bread that it earned," 
was brought to clamour the loudest against taxes which 
did not affect it, and had, in fact, a tendency to re- 
lieve it ; another proof of the inconsiderateness of the 
multitude, and of the superior potency of words to 
things, and, consequently, of the very little chance, in- 
deed, of honesty and fair dealing in a contest with kna- 
very and hypocrisy, before " the bar of public reason." 

This tax on real property was the fatal blow to fede- 
ralism in Pennsylvania. The stamp act was indeed bad 
enough, because it was a stamp act that first excited our 
displeasure with the mother country : The very name of 
an excise was hateful to freemen.* The alien law set at 
nought one of the inherent rights of man, that is, the 
right of impatnation and expatriation, of coming, and 
going, and saying, and doing, whatever the love of liber- 
ty prompted ; and the sedition law was still more exe- 
crable, since, in permitting the truth to be given in evi- 
dence in exculpation of a libeller, it gagged the mouths 
alone of patriotic liars and calumniators, the only species 
of partizans whose labours could be efficient in a cause, 
emphatically that of falsehood. But, though all these 
sad doings had been carefully impressed upon the sensory 
of the great Germanic body of Pennsylvania, they had 
not fully wrought the desired effect. Their pockets had 
hitherto been spared, and wheat had borne a good price. 
But now their vulnerable part was touched, and they be- 



* It is remarkable,, that the federalists seemed really to believe, 
what, it was evident from the conduct of their opponents, they did 
not believe, viz. that the people were enlightened. They were 
persuaded, however, of the efficacy of flattery, and laid it on thickly. 

12 



410 



IMPOSITION OF TAXES. 



gan to look about them. Nor were there wanting 
" friends of the people," to sympathize in their oppres- 
sion, and to put them in mind, that it was to avoid the 
payment of taxes we went to war with Great Britain ; 
that the federalists, therefore, were as tyrannical as she 
had been, and that this tax upon farms, houses, and win- 
dows, was but the beginning of a system which would 
soon extend to every thing ; and that we should have at 
length a tax upon horses, waggons, and ploughs ; or, as 
it was expressed in a handbill, circulated in favour of the 
election of Thomas M'Kean, " a horse tax, a cart tax, a 
plough tax, &c. &c." The love of pelf was completely 
roused ; and many an honest farmer came to the poll 
with a countenance of as much anxious determination, as 
if upon his vote the question was suspended, whether he 
was to remain the independent man he was, or to sink 
into a pennyless vassal. Nor is it to be wondered at, 
that he was thus " perplexed in the extreme," when it 
is considered, that, although we never bribe, all offices 
were afloat, and depended for their resettlement on the 
issue of the election and the will of the successful candi- 
date. 

The success of a good trick is only a theme for mirth 
among those who have talents for the business of elec- 
tioneering. Low cunning, indeed, such as is moulded 
into the buffoon characters, we see in novels and upon 
the stage, your Sancho Panzas, Tony Lumpkins, &c. 
passes current for extreme cleverness, among the bulk of 
our rural statesmen. These are of the class of Mr Jef- 
ferson's chosen people, however ; and though, when in 
their place, their petty rogueries are very harmless and 
diverting ; yet, when agog for office, with the extensive 
means of mischief they possess, in their sovereign capa- 



SINGULAR FABRICATION. 



411 



city, they may, nevertheless, be fully competent to the 
ruin of a nation. The name of Washington, as already 
observed, was always usurped by this species of good re- 
publicans ; and so deplorable was the stupidity of a cer- 
tain portion of the most enlightened people upon earth, 
that the following fabrication was not too monstrous for 
their intellectual gullets. John Adams, it was stated, 
was about to unite his house to that of his majesty of 
Britain, either by marrying one of his sons to one of the 
king's daughters, or one of his daughters to one of the 
king's sons, (I forget which,) but the consequence was, 
that the bridegroom was to be King of America : — That 
General Washington had heard of this, as well as of the 
other anti-republican conduct of the President, at which 
he was, of course, most grievously displeased : — That, 
therefore, he went to talk to Mr Adams upon the sub- 
ject, and by way of being more persuasive by appearing 
gay, good humoured, and friendly, he dressed himself in 
a suit of white, and discoursed with him very mildly ; 
but neither his dress nor his arguments were of any 
avail. Then he waited upon him a second time, and, in 
order to render his remonstrance more solemn and im- 
pressive, he put on a suit of black, and set before Mr 
Adams the heinousness of his proceedings ; but to as 
little purpose as before. He at length paid him a third 
and last visit, in which he appeared in full regimentals, 
when finding the President still deaf to good counsel, he 
drew his sword, declaring, he would never sheath it, un- 
til Mr Adams had relinquished his wicked designs, and 
so left him a sworn enemy. During the circulation of 
this ingenious romance, not ill adapted to the capacities 
it was designed for, and having all the marks of veracity 
derivable from circumstantial minuteness ; the letter 



412 



ANOTHER POPULAR INSURRECTION. 



from General Washington, announcing his acceptance 
of the command of the provisional army, and his appro- 
bation of the measures pursuing, was also circulating in 
the federal prints. But this signified nothing, as they 
never reached the persons to be deluded by the story ; 
and even if they had reached them, the latter would im- 
mediately have been knocked down as a federal lie. 
Such, be it again observed, is the bar of public reason. 

The consequence of these united efforts of patriotism 
and invention was another insurrection. The sedition 
which began in the county of Northampton ran in a vein 
through the counties of Berks and Dauphin, spreading 
the infection by means of liberty poles, successively ris- 
ing in grand colonnade from the banks of the Delaware 
to those of Susquehanna. Mr Adams had now to set to 
work to quell this second effervescence of liberty ; and it 
proved a matter of no great difficulty, when force was 
applied. Poor Fries, like the whisky insurgents, was, 
for a time, left in the lurch ; but, finally, sent " a colo- 
nelling," by good Governor M'Kean. The object of the 
tumult, however, was, perhaps, fully obtained ; and had 
Fries been hanged, it would have been deemed but a 
very small sacrifice. It enlisted the feelings and resent- 
ments of a populous district on the side of democracy ; 
and, by the spirit of turbulence and discontent it scatter- 
ed abroad in the state, it helped to prepare the way for 
the coming in of Mr M'Kean, as its governor ; and 
thence, by the " momentum of Pennsylvania politics," 
(noticed by Mr Dallas,) to pave the way for the acces- 
sion of Mr Jefferson to the presidency. It gave occasion, 
too, for a useful nickname on the administration of Mr 
Adams, which, with a sardonic grin, not unworthy the 
taunting malignity of demons, was, by the recent shout- 



MB, JEFFERSON PRESIDENT. 



413 



ers for the mountain party of Robespierre, denominated, 
A reign of terror, — now become a truly odious thing. 

Such a fund of republicanism as was, by these means, 
infused into Pennsylvania, could not fail to operate fa- 
vourably for the republican candidate, Chief-Justice 
M'Kean ; and he was, consequently, elected governor, 
in preference to Mr Ross ; and the same causes, aided 
by Cal lender's Prospect before us, that chef d'ceuvre of 
civic piety, operating in the same direction throughout 
the union, not long after, invested Mr Jefferson with 
the presidency. Summoque ulularunt vertice nymphce. * 
Ye who have genius for the epic employ your talents 
here ! one entire action of twelve years successfully ter- 
minated, at last, not by ruffians stained with blood, but 
by meek and gentle operators in the " swindling are- 
na." 

Such a result was to have been looked for. The morbid 
state of the public mind was, I repeat it, to have been de- 
duced from the very addresses to the President, which 
have been considered as indicative of a manly patriotic 
vigour. They will, on the contrary, (at least it was the 
impression made upon me at the time of their appear- 
ance,) be too generally found to breathe a spirit of bigot- 
ry ; not a generous love of country, not an adequate hor- 
ror of vice, not a proper understanding of the subject, 
but rather a whining lamentation that the conduct of the 
Directory, so little fraternal, had a tendency to impede 
and interrupt the glorious career of illuminatism and 



* Ni/mphce, by some of Virgil's commentators, are here under- 
stood to mean Furies, and may easily be extended to the Furies of 
Jacobinism ; which, no doubt, howled in exultation upon this occa- 
sion. 



414 



POPULAR FANATICISM. 



kingly demolition. This was evidently perceived and felt 
by Mr Adams ; and was, doubtless, his inducement for 
complimenting the Harrisburgh address, whose merit, 
if it had any, was, that it cut deeper and approached 
nearer to the source of the evil than the general tenor 
of the addresses had done. Let us love our country, let 
us cherish our institutions, and check their tendency to 
corruption and abuse ; but let us no more think of cut- 
ting the throats of those who may differ from us in their 
civil polity, than of those who differ from us in their re- 
ligious creed. Should we not look with something more 
than pity on the fanatic, who should languish to kill the 
Pope, to exterminate the Cardinals, and to annihilate the 
Holy See ? What, then, but an equally silly spirit of fa- 
naticism can induce us to sigh for the regeneration of 
Europe, in the extinction of her kings and privileged or- 
ders ! Does any one now suppose that it would meliorate 
the condition of mankind ? But the symptoms of this 
most loathsome mental distemper were never more mani- 
fest than shortly before the downfal of federalism, when 
the gallant Truxtun, for an achievement that redounded 
to his country's glory, and for which he should have re- 
ceived her unqualified warmest applause, was assailed with 
brutal rage, and called a ruffian and a murderer. Could 
any thing more clearly demonstrate, that love of country 
was swallowed up in a rage for political theory ? 

By this memorable victory of Pennsylvania democracy, 
for the behoof of Virginia aristocracy, occasion is afford- 
ed for much serious reflection on the sad effects of party 
fury ; and giving the rein to those vindictive passions 
which arise from selfishness opposed. No man, perhaps, 
ever more fatally and intemperately rioted in their indul- 
gence than Mr M'Kean. But the affair is old, and I am 



AUTHORS POLITICAL PRINCIPLES. 415 

little disposed to renew it. As keenly sensible to injury 
as any one, I have felt with poignancy, and given vent 
to my indignation ; but it is neither for my reputation 
nor my repose to cherish feelings which deform the out- 
ward man, and prey upon the breast which harbours 
them. I shall be cold, therefore, upon a subject wherein 
warmth and even acrimony might be justified. 

From the account I have given of my political opinions, 
it can scarcely be necessary to say, that my vote was on 
the federal side, and given for Mr Ross ; and that I was, 
of course, involved in the proscription that followed the 
defeat of my party. In a word, I was one of those who 
were loaded with reproach and detruded from office, as 
men unworthy to partake of the honours, or even to eat 
the bread, of their country. The extent of my offending 
the reader is acquainted with. It was the crime of my 
party in being prematurely right ; in daring to be wiser 
than the great body of the people. Why, then, did I not 
play the dotard with my country ? Why did I not sigh 
for fraternity with France, unconscious of the peril that 
awaited it ? 

I swear 'tis better to be much abus'd, 
Than but to know't a little. 

If I unfortunately thought differently from Mr M'Kean 
on the highly interesting subject of Gallic republicanism, 
and, in so doing, apostatized from my former Whiggism, 
I can only say I could not help it. That I did not fore- 
go my opinion when I found it repugnant to his, is not a 
matter of so easy extrication. I was contumacious, I know 
I was. But my conscience is satisfied ; and that I never 
shouted in the sanguinary triumphs of the Jacobins 
will, though it has made me poorer, bring consolation 



416 



author's political principles. 



along with it, in the close of a life, which, in all other re- 
spects, I could wish had been equally blameless. An ear- 
ly enthusiast in a most unfashionable cause, 

Some sin to me unknown 
Dipp'd me in ink, my parents or my own ; 

even before my sentiments could be relished by the ge- 
nerality of the party to which I belonged ; and while, 
from their novelty, they were so shocking to others, as 
to draw into question the sanity of my intellects. I had 
even ventured to shed a tear for the fate of Louis and 
his family ; I had presumed to doubt the wisdom of 
Brissot, and to arraign the humanity of Robespierre, 
long before the guillotine had granted toleration for 
these opinions. 

But, independent of so much heterodoxy, my simple 
vote had been sufficient for the punishment that ensued ; 
since the possessions of the vanquished were, in the true 
spirit of the feudal system, to be parcelled out among 
the champions of the victorious leader. This, without 
doubt, was a mutual preliminary to a partnership in the 
war ; and as among the holders of office, in the apolo- 
getic naivete of Mr Jefferson, " few died and none re- 
signed," what was left but to cashier them ? I forbear to 
reiterate here the stale remark that the free unbiassed 
suffrage of the citizens is the basis of the republican 
form of government. Maxims have their use, but must 
be wholly disregarded in extreme cases ; as, in England, 
the Habeas Corpus Act. Republicanism herself was 
here in danger. Was not a band of conspirators, with 
Washington at their head, in the very act of establishing 
a monarchy under the insidious mask of federalism ? * 



* This apostacy to monarchy was inferred from President Wash- 



author's political principles. 



417 



A man, desirous to know the world, ought to place 
himself in every situation to which the vicissitudes of life 
may expose him. Above all, he should be acquainted 
with adversity, and that particular kind of it which re- 
sults from a sudden reverse of fortune. But, to see the 
heart of man in that most unfavourable point of view, 
in which the milk of human kindness is turned to gall 
and bitterness, he should behold it when elate with a " re- 
publican triumph. 5 ' It has twice been my lot to smart 
under the hand of oppression. I have been exposed to 
the fury both of royal and republican vengeance 5 and,, 
unless I may be misled by the greater recency of the lat- 
ter, I am compelled to say, that the first, though bad, was 
most mitigated by instances of generosity. If it produ- 
ced the enormities the reader has been made acquainted 
with, the other was ruthless enough to rejoice at the 
sight of helpless families, at once reduced to indigence, 
stripped of their subsistence, driven from their homes, 
and sent to seek their bread by toiling in a wilderness. 
This is no exaggerated picture ; I saw the reality, and 
felt it too, in the case of a near connexion. And for 
what crime was it the punishment ? For embracing the 
policy of Washington ; for being true to the dictates of 
honesty, to the interests of their country, to the interests 
of humanity; for having larger hearts, and greater 
minds, and nobler souls, than those who, by the inscru- 



ington's not joining the French against England ; but now, when 
Spain is contending for her rights and liberties, the Jeffersonians 
can make common cause with her perfidious oppressor without 
danger of any such deduction or imputation. Their incorruptible 
republicanism can even take the fraternal hug with an emperor 
without the smallest suspicion of contamination. 

Dd 



418 



DEATH OF WASHINGTON. 



table wiil of Heaven, were permitted to be their chas- 
tisers. 

The death of the great father of his country, which 
happened between the election and the inauguration of 
the governor, afforded another instance of democratic 
versatility. He was publicly and pathetically lamented 
and extolled by the leaders of the party : By Mr 
M'Kean while in the very act of chastising his follow- 
ers ; and by Mr Jefferson while contemplating a similar 
conduct. The latter, it is said, made a visit to his 
tomb, which he plenteously bedewed with tears, and 
groaned aloud with every gesture of the deepest woe. 
Achilles himself was not more inconsolable for the loss 
of his Patroclus : And even, in the sacrifice of twelve 
young Trojans to his manes, he was far outdone by this 
illustrious modern mourner, with the remarkable differ- 
ence, however, that, whereas the one made victims of the 
enemies, the other selected for immolation the friends of 
the lamented dead. 

Utcumque ferent ea facta minores ; 
Vincet amor patriae, laudumque immensa cupido. 

In the election of Mr Jefferson the long and persever- 
ing efforts of democracy had obtained their ultimatum ; 
the beginning of that millenium that had been so anxi- 
ously sighed for. With this propitious era, therefore, I 
close my narrative of political events and party machina- 
tions. I had, indeed, aimed at nothing more than a 
sketch of public affairs, in so far as my fortune was more 
peculiarly implicated in them. As to the conduct of 
Mr Jefferson, in the management of his high trust, it 
would appear to have been his primary object to discredit 
the republican form of government, by illustrating the 



CHARACTER OF MR JEFFERSON. 419 

abuses of which it is susceptible, and its proneness to be- 
come the prey of unprincipled intriguers. I should sup- 
pose him to be a monarchist of the true imperial cut ; 
and that his administration was peculiarly calculated to 
surfeit us with liberty ; to expose the nakedness of our 
systems, and the extreme fragility of those ties he once 
denominated Lilliputian. Upon this hypothesis, all is 
plain and consistent, on every other inexplicable, unless 
we can admit the possibility of a philosopher being a fool, 
or of a patriot being a man solely bent on filling his 
pocket. Methinks I see the mighty personage, like a 
sated Condor on the Andes, sublimely perched on Mon- 
ticello, triumphantly deriding the clumsy labours of 
New England morality, and self-complacently counting 
the gains of his superior illumination. But whether the 
speculum, through which I view him, may magnify or 
diminish him, show him justly or distort him, it is too 
manifest a truth that, the lesson given by France we 
are inculcating with all our might, and erecting Ame- 
rica also into a beacon, instead of a guide. To the sad 
example of former republics we are eagerly adding our 
own, and certifying, in colossal characters, to the world, 
the melancholy result of " this last and fairest experi- 
ment" in favour of free government. 

As to myself, I have obtained the reward which per- 
haps every man must look for, " who, upon the strength 
of innocence alone, shall dare openly to speak the truth, 
without first propping himself by cabals, without forming 
parties for his protection." I have not only been pu- 
nished by my political enemies, but have seen the justice 
of the measure solemnly ratified by the suffrages of those 
whom I supposed to be my friends. For the sake of a 
paper constitution, whose threatened destruction has be- 



4£0 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



come the trick of the demagogue, seeking power as its 
preservation becomes his device, so soon as he is invested 
with it, a host of officers, that had been prostrated by 
the pioneer of Mr Jefferson, were coolly and remorseless- 
ly consigned to their fate by the federalists. The sub- 
stance of justice was exchanged for its shadow, and the 
principle established, that virtue is a certain bar to the 
attainment of power, an encumbrance which the candi- 
date cannot too soon shake off ; and that corruption and 
wrong mark the route to be pursued. This, be it known, 
is the unanimous decree in Pennsylvania, the law of the 
land, nemine contradicente, A similar, but much less 
galling and extensively mischievous, instance of ratified 
oppression, gave birth to the Social Contract of Rous- 
seau. He had been borne down unjustly, as he suppos- 
ed, by the French Ambassador to Venice, to whom he 
had been secretary, and with whom he had a dispute ; 
and his oppressor, countenanced and supported by the 
community, first gave him, as he informs us, the idea of 
a comparative analysis of the government and society to 
whose justice he had appealed in vain. " Every body 
agreed/* says he, " that I was insulted, injured, and un- 
fortunate ; that the ambassador was mad, cruel, and ini- 
quitous, and that the whole of the affair dishonoured 
him for ever. But what of this ? He was the ambassa- 
dor, and I was nothing more than the secretary. The 
justice and inutility of my complaints left in my mind 
seeds of indignation against our foolish civil institutions, 
by which the welfare of the public and real justice are 
always sacrificed to I know not what appearance of or- 
der ; and which does nothing more than add the sanc- 
tion of public authority to the oppression of the weak 
and iniquity of the powerful." It is scarcely necessary 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 421 

to mention that these remarks refer to the ancient mo- 
narchy of France. Could the author of the Social Con- 
tract have supposed that they could ever be equally ap- 
plicable to institutions expressly founded on the princi- 
ples of liberty and justice, and which even aim at restor- 
ing the natural equality of mankind ? But Rousseau was 
not aware, that the germ of the evil he complained of 
was not in any particular form of government, but in 
the world ; ever slavishly inclined to offer incense to 
power, with very little regard to the general justice of 
its exercise. 

If the end of punishment be to reform, mine has been 
wholly lost upon me ; though my example has no doubt 
been useful to others. I was too high toned and indis- 
creet even in the opinion of many federalists ; for many 
there were who saw no wisdom in martyrdom. I am 
still, however, to speak the truth, a most incorrigible sin- 
ner, though somewhat cooled of my ardour ; and so lit- 
tle amended by the chastisement I have received, as to 
behold, if possible, with increased contempt and execra- 
tion, the procedures of those very great and good men, 
under whose auspices it has been administered. The 
possession of power has exhibited them in even blacker 
colours, than did the sink in which they " lay straining 
their low thought," to obtain it : and although unable 
to vie with our dear departed sister republic in deeds of 
martial emprise, we certainly " gall her kibes," in 
those of fraudulent achievement. In truth, we must by 
this time be nearly mature. Hypocrisy, we are told, is 
the consummation of vice ; and the libertine hero of 
Moliere's Festin de Pierre is not thought ripe for de- 
struction until he receives this last polish of villany. 
If there be any thing wrong in this language, it does not 



422 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



arise from its being applied to a point of which there is 
any doubt ; but merely from its solemnity approximat- 
ing it to bombast, by being employed on a matter, be- 
come trivial from extreme familiarity. However shock- 
ed at first, we now only laugh at the monstrosities of the 
era. After what we have seen in France, and are now 
witnessing at home, Caligula's making his horse consul 
is a thing of very easy belief ; nor is any historical phe- 
nomenon more incredible than the mutual passion sub- 
sisting between enthusiastic republicanism on the one 
hand, and the most desolating and dismaying system of 
despotism, which the world has yet beheld, on the other. 

Though this picture may pass with some for an hide- 
ous caricature, enough of truth, I trust, will be found in 
it, to convince them that we are no longer in that full 
tide of successful experiment, that wafted Mr Jefferson 
into office ; that, on the contrary, we felt the influence 
of " retiring ebb," and were, therefore, needlessly vigi- 
lant in guarding against the inroads of British corrup- 
tion. Neither have we shown that we are so entirely 
well adapted to our institutions, as to render it a neces- 
sary ingredient in the education of our youth, to prepos- 
sess them with a bigoted aversion to every other mode 
of government, and thereby to render them the ready 
patrons of insurrection and anarchy in every quarter of 
the globe. The Commentaries of Blackstone, we are 
told by a great law character and writer, should be stu- 
died with caution, since he is heterodox in some of his 
opinions, and does not trace power to its genuine source ; 
that is, "through its small and pure streams up to the 
free and indepeudent man." Mr Burke, too, comes un- 
der the lash of the American statesman, who, with a 
sneer, that had much better been spared, insinuates his 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 443 

want of integrity, and talks of his " new creed." But 
what did Mr Wilson know of his old one ? Was it ever 
confided to him ? Did Mr Burke ever tell him that he 
was not a monarchist, but a republican ? For he certain- 
ly never told the world so. Mr Wilson was an able 
man, and his eloquence, as a speaker, singularly forcible 
and commanding ; but when he undertakes to raise 
trophies to himself from the dispraise of such men as 
Biackstone and Burke, he engages in a task which may 
justly be termed a bold one. As to the fine allegory, 
under which the fountain of political power is represent- 
ed to have been at length discovered, like the source of 
the Nile, what does it amount to ? It may be happily 
conceived, but it is little satisfactory. " Men's rights," 
says Mr Burke, "are their advantages." This is com- 
ing to the point ; and it is not a discovery of the source 
of power that decides the question of human happiness, 
but how its streams can be best distributed for the at- 
tainment of that end. After finding power to originate 
in the free and independent man, we have yet to in- 
quire, whether this free and independent man will vo- 
luntarily submit to the restraints which the good of the 
community requires of him. If he will, Mr Wilson is 
both practically and theoretically right ; and the ques- 
tion, as to forms of government, is at rest. But his 
manner seems rather too dogmatical, considering that 
he is the advocate of a system, which, however plausible 
in theory, has experience against it : and when he com- 
pliments us Pennsylvanians for our love " of liberty and 
law" he must certainly have adopted the maxim of 
laadando admonere, since, neither in the attack of his 
own house, nor in our two more recent insurrections, is 
this distinguished love of law to be recognised. There 



424 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

appears to me, therefore, more propriety and wisdom in 
speaking of our institutions, as experiments, whose fail- 
ure may be deemed the general misfortune of mankind, 
as is done by Mr Hamilton, in his Federalist, than in 
treating those with disrespect and asperity, who have la- 
boured to support other principles of government — prin- 
ciples, too, which seem absolutely essential to order, in 
the nation of which they were subjects. That we pos- 
sess advantages, which are not to be found in the Old 
World, I have no difficulty in believing ; but in an esti- 
mate of our comparative superiority, it is but fair to ab- 
stract from our polity the benefits derived from our state 
of society and population. Instead, then, of engaging in 
scholastic disputations and wars of extermination about 
political modes of faith, let us be content with perform- 
ing our duties to the system we have established for 
ourselves : and in the writings of this very Mr Burke, 
heretic and apostate though he be, a most excellent les- 
son may be found for our purpose. It is in his Appeal 
to the Old Whigs, page 82 of the New York edition. 
The passage struck me, as containing reasoning at once 
new, moral, and refined ; but I have since found it to 
be merely a dilatation of the quatrain of Gui du Fur de 
Pibrac, in words which are evidently the text of Mr 
Burke's most beautiful commentary. 

Aime Fetat, tel que tu le vois etre : 

S'il royal aime la royaute ; 

S'il ne Test point, s'il est communaute, 

Aime le aussi, quand Dieu t'y a fait naitre. * 



* It may thus be translated : Love the state to which you be- 
long, such as you find it to be : if of the royal kind, love and be 
loyal to it : if, on the contrary, it be a commonwealth, equally love 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



Still if the sentiment be thought too indulgent to legi- 
timate monarchy, (and nothing royal is to be endured, it 
seems, unless proceeding from fraud, usurpation, and vio- 
lence,) I say with Mr Wilson, that democracy is the best 
of all possible governments — ifthepeople arenot wanting 
to themselves. But, that we have been latterly a good 
deal wanting to ourselves, I must be permitted to be- 
lieve ; and also to think with Mr Hillhouse, that, in the 
present corrupted state of our morals, what has been ab- 
surdly termed a strong executive, and thought our best se- 
curity, has become our greatest bane — that the splendour 
of chief magistracy we must not look to have ; but, in 
its stead, an unostentatious, ephemeral head, begotten 
by chance, and dying while yet in infancy — literally 
coming up and cut down like a flower. The attri- 
butes of royalty neither become us, nor are good for 
us. They sink our great men into very little ones, or 
only " aggrandize them into baseness.'* To give any 
chance, therefore, for the operations of patriotism, we 
must smother that obtrusive thing called self; and by 
taking away, or rendering power uncertain and fugitive, 
we must, with pious humility, endeavour to deliver our- 
selves from temptation. 

I am aware of the offence which may be given by 
these observations : but I will not now begin to cajole, 
when I have foregone beyond redemption, what might 
once have been gained by it. Having spoken truth so 
long, I will persevere to the end ; nor, though fully ad- 
mitting that, by a virtuous use of the government we pos- 
sesss, we may become the most happy people upon earth, 



and be faithful to it, since heaven has made it the place of your 
nativity. 



426 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



am I at all disposed to conceal, that, by the nefarious po- 
licy in fashion, we are in a fair way of rendering our- 
selves the most miserable. One of its fundamental max- 
ims, and, to all appearance, its most favourite one, is, that 
Britain must be destroyed ; — a power which is evident- 
ly the world's last hope against the desolating scene of 
universal slavery : * — a country, too, which, in the lan- 
guage of a native American, who tells us he had entertain- 
ed the common prejudices against her, presents "the most 
beautiful and perfect model of public and private prosperi- 
ty, the most magnificent, and, at the same time, most solid 
fabric of social happiness and national grandeur." And 
yet all this is to be demolished, because, some thirty 
years ago, we were engaged with her in a contest, which, 
so far as independence is implicated, appears now to 
have been a truly " unprofitable one." But God forbid 
that the long-lived malice of Mr Jefferson should be gra- 
tified ! And the deprecation is equally extended to his 
successor, should he unhappily harbour the same pitiable 
rancour. If these gentlemen, during the war, have had 
their nerves too rudely shocked by the invader, to be 
able to recover their propriety, or to adhere to the assur- 
ance given in the declaration of independence, of con- 
sidering the English as " friends in peace, and only ene- 
mies in war/' they ought to reflect, that it is not strictly 
patriotic, to risk the ruin of their country, to obtain re- 
venge. Or if they are only unluckily committed, through 

* If there is any thing degrading in this sentiment, we may thank 
ourselves for affording ground for it. For it is absurd to talk of 
fighting, where empty treasuries are preferred to full ones, where 
cowardice has been inculcated both by maxims and devices, and 
where the people have been taught to believe that taxation is op- 
pression. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



a prodigality of stipulation, for the sake of dear Louisia- 
na — God send them a good deliverance, or, at least, their 
country an happy riddance, both of the vendor and ven- 
dees. 

That England has long been, and still is, fighting the 
battle of the civilized world, I hold to be an incontro- 
vertible truth. The observation T know to be trite, but 
I am not a servile follower in the use of it. So long ago 
as the year 1797 > I was the author of the following sen- 
timent in Mr Fenno's Gazette : " As to Great Britain, 
with all her errors and vices, and little, perhaps, as Ame- 
rica may owe her, considering the situation in which she 
has been fortuitously placed by the dreadful convulsions 
of Europe, so far from wishing her downfall, I consider 
her preservation as of real importance to mankind ; and 
have long looked upon her as the barrier betwixt the world 
and anarchy/' * — The sentiment was then in me an ori- 
ginal conception ; I had never heard it before, if ever it 
had been uttered. It has unceasingly been among my 
strongest convictions, with the modification, that she is 
now our protection from despotism 5 and it is therefore 
natural that I should be gratified by the very able and 
valuable pamphlet which Mr Walsh has presented to his 
country. It is to be wished it may be read as well as 
the other writings he is submitting to us, with candour 
and a proper feeling for the general interest, not merely 
of this nation but of mankind. In contemplating the 

* This passage is in an article in the Gazette of the United 
States,, of November 10th, 1797;, signed A Country Subscriber, and 
is the conclusion of a slight sparring with Mr Cobbett, which gen- 
tleman, by the bye, has given a notable instance of his candour in 
his Selections from Porcupine , s Gazette, publishing therein my at- 
tack,, and his answer to it, but wholly suppressing this rejoinder. 



428 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



enormities of the time, it is remarkable that we can only 
find matter for illustration in the poets who flourished 
amid the confusions which prevailed in the decline of the 
Roman empire. Thus Mr Walsh has frequent recourse 
to Claudian, whose poem in Rufinum very forcibly de- 
picts the dark atrocities of a ferocious and despotic usur- 
pation, which, though acted on an infinitely smaller thea- 
tre than that of the present day, had those dismaying 
appearances which so overpower and confound the mind, 
as to plerplex it even with doubts of an overruling Pro- 
vidence. * 

I have dipped deeper into politics than I intended, or 
conceived would be necessary at my outset : but without 
an obvious departure from the declared design of my 
work, and a dereliction of the sacred duty which every 
annalist owes to the world, the subject, however trite and 
unpleasant, could not be avoided ; and much as I have 
dwelt upon it, it yet forms but a very imperfect sketch 
of our public transactions. It has relieved me, however, 
from a detail of my own personal concerns, which being 
made up of the common occurrences of still life, che- 
quered as usual with good and with evil, it would be 
highly arrogant in me to suppose could be in any degree 
worthy of the public attention. I shall only advert to 
them, therefore, for the single purpose of mentioning, 
that my mother, who has acted no inconsiderable part in 
my narrative, finished, under my roof, a long and well 
spent life, protracted to her seventy-eighth year, on the 



* Thus expressed in the opening of the poem : 

Saepe mihi dubiam traxit sententia mentem, 
Curarent Superi terras,, an millus inesset, 
Rector, et incerto fluerent mortalia casu. 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



429 



23d of January I8O7. Her excellent constitution sunk 
under the republican havoc on her family : her first symp- 
tom of decay followed close upon it ; and she fell a mar- 
tyr, in all probability, to the ever memorable triumph of 
what has been impiously called the triumph of good prin- 
ciples. Perhaps, however, she had lived long enough. 

Of the part I have acted in this turbulent scene the 
reader is truly informed. Whether it was wise or un- 
wise, I will take upon me to say, it was conscientious 
and disinterested. Yet it certainly makes but a very 
sorry figure at an era so distinguished for rapid acquisi- 
tions of fortune and dignity. To have commanded a 
company in the continental army at the age of three and 
twenty, and not to have advanced an inch in the glori- 
ous career of personal aggrandizement, makes good, I 
think, my promise of negative instruction ; and I must 
be as very a wretch in the eyes of the aspiring, as was 
the unambitious Richard Cromwell in those of the Prince 
of Conti. — Why even the imperial Napoleon himself had 
scarcely a fairer prospect, when making his debut as an 
artillerist before the walls of Toulon. Then, 

ei What a rogue and peasant slave am I !" 

Nevertheless, with respect to the glory acquired by what 
may be termed civic accomplishments, I have some rag- 
ged pride in making it known, that my insignificance is 
not so much owing to an absolute ignorance of the °;ame, 
as to a want of the nerve that is necessary for playing it 
to advantage. Though unambitious of philosophic fame, 
I have no desire to pass for a simpleton ; and therefore 
wish it to be understood, that I am not to learn, that 
this revolution business and republicanism, with what- 
ever purity begun, has nearly issued in a scramble, in 



430 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 

which all morality and even decency being thrown aside, 
he is the cleverest fellow, that, by a trick or violence, can 
emerge the fullest handed. I regret that I am obliged 
to say so. I would much rather be the encomiast than 
the satirist of my country, which I have no doubt con- 
tains so ample a portion of manly sentiment, as, under 
better auspices, to entitle it to a lofty strain of panegy- 
ric. 

But it will be said I am a party man ; and as all 
party men are prejudiced, these censures must go for no- 
thing. I am indeed a party man, as I conceive there is 
a right and wrong in politics as in other things : I freely 
admit it, too, that I am prejudiced to a great degree ; but 
all my prejudices, I trust, are in favour of honesty and 
fair dealing, and where these appear, no one has more 
toleration for error. This is an indulgence I may have 
need of myself , but I reflect with satisfaction, that 
among my faults, I have no act of deceit, injustice, or 
oppression, (for I have sometimes had a little power,) to 
reproach myself with ; and this I say without fear of 
contradiction. I have some reliance, too, that those who 
know me, even of the opposite political party, will give 
me credit for general good intention, and openness of 
character; and this granted, I ask no quarter for my 
sentiments. If they are erroneous and unfounded, let 
them be scouted and exposed ; I shall be among the 
first to condemn them, if persuaded of their falsity. 

And I here recognize, with suitable feelings, the liber- 
al and unsought patronage to this undertaking, from 
many of my neighbours and townsmen, with whose po- 
litical conduct and opinions mine have generally been in 
collision. If I have been less accommodating to their 
sentiments than I could have wished, they will read my 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



431 



apology in the tenor of my performance, which does not 
merely purport to speak with plainness, but manifests, I 
presume that it has done so in reality, without respect 
to parties or to persons. I have occasionally, I am sensible, 
expressed myself with some asperity ; with more, per- 
haps, than may be thought congenial to the nature of my 
work ; but this must be attributed to my awful impres- 
sion of the dangers which surround us, and a solemn 
apprehension, that all the advantages of our situation 
are about to be sacrificed to a profligate rage for place 
and party supremacy. 



Thus, uncalled for, have I ventured upon a pretty 
full account, both of my Life and my Opinions, Of the 
value of either, it is not for me to judge ; but as it was 
my lot to enter upon manhood just at the commence- 
ment of the Revolution, and to be a witness of its pro- 
gress, its consummation, and its consequences, it appear- 
ed to me, that the period, if justly delineated, could not 
be altogether destitute of instruction, I have endea- 
voured to depict it truly ; and I trust I have done so, in 
regard, at least, to the phases presented to my vision. 
The facts I have related I have either witnessed myself, 
or received on such authority as leaves with me little 
doubt of their correctness ; and my inferences, though 
sometimes harsh, are always the result of the most deli- 
berate and candid reflection : Whatever, therefore, 
may be the errors of my book, they are not those of 
wilful misrepresentation. 

THE END, 



Printed by George Ramsay & Company, 
Edinburgh, 182J. 



